Stars Flayed

American Men of Science is the U. S. Who's Who of scientific learning. The fifth and latest edition (1933) is a fat volume listing some 20,000 names, of which about 1,000 are starred with an asterisk, to designate "leading scientific workers," i. e., those chosen by election among men of standing in their respective fields. Most U. S. scientists covet the star as a signal honor, but the star system itself has repeatedly been criticized as unfair and misleading.

Editor of American Men of Science since its first edition (1906) is James McKeen Cattell, famed psychologist and educator, publisher of five scientific and educational journals, including the weekly Science. Lately Dr. Franz Schrader, Columbia University zoologist who was awarded a star in 1933, addressed a letter to Science protesting the system. Dr. Cattell tried to persuade Dr. Schrader to withdraw the letter, failed. As a scrupulous editor he printed it in Science last week.

"The selection of [starred] names," wrote Dr. Schrader, "is made on a basis that is not very clear to me, and I doubt that it is well defined in the mind of the editor himself. ... I regard these elections ... as a somewhat childish albeit amusing pastime, but I understand that in some institutions the possession or lack of a star is taken very seriously and may even be decisive in questions of appointment and promotion. . . . Personally I would much prefer to see the custom of starring abandoned altogether." Dr. Schrader pointed out that "leading scientific workers" may not necessarily be able and active research workers, but simply efficient administrators or skilful writers of textbooks.

Dr. Cattell printed no comment. Sequestered last week at his home in Garrison, N. Y., the old psychologist said he would make no public rebuttal, but asserted, as he has done before, that voting on star candidates is a more precise determination of scientific merit than election to the National Academy of Sciences, No. 1 U. S. learned body.

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