Scientific Research and Invention 125
men—more than any university could equal. Industry
 has realized that the continued development of
modern life, with its comforts and conveniences,
depends upon scientific research. Inventions due to
research are now the chief breadwinners of our
industrial system.
Already more than three hundred substances indispensable
 to our life today are produced as by-products
 of the distillation of coal. Chemists have found
hundreds of new uses for the former waste of the
farm, which used to be so hard to dispose of. One
of the chief topics of discussion today wherever
employers, workers, engineers, scientists, bankers or
educators gather together is scientific research.
At a recent meeting of the New York State Chamber
 of Commerce, Dr. Robert A. Millikan, one of
the world’s foremost physicists, took occasion to
quote the words of Pasteur: “In our century science
is the soul of the prosperity of nations, and the living
 source of all progress. Undoubtedly the tiring
discussions of politics seem to be our guide—empty
appearances. What really leads us forward is a few
scientific discoveries and their application.”

Edison as a Forerunner

The fiftieth anniversary of the work of Thomas
A. Edison, in bringing forth the incandescent lamp,
was celebrated during the summer and fall of 1929.
As an inventor and organizer of inventive research,
Edison is the symbol of the entrance of science into
the industrial renaissance. His latest announcement