In selecting among the many statements that were made in the ‘War of Words’, it is important
to choose only those that contained practical proposals for administrative reform and
redirection of Government policy. Only then can we assess the extent to which they were
in tune with or diverged from the plans being developed within the Board of Education.
These were the ones that, because of their focused nature, draftspersons in the Board of
Education might conceivably have felt constrained to take into account, and either to
incorporate in, or exclude from, their own designs. In this way it is possible to be precise
about what scientists wanted in 1914–17, and to estimate their degree of realism and the
likely scope of their influence.
The Fellows of the Royal Society and the Chemical and Engineering societies must, Sir
William Ramsay (FRS, chemist) urged in October 1914, be co-ordinated. They need, he
said, to ‘work together at what for us is the supreme problem of all – how to conquer the
Germans?’. The British Science Guild was to be included and the Royal Society was to
‘set the example’. Committees should be created; experts from other societies were to be
added.
In March 1915 Ramsay prepared a ‘Draft Scheme for a Chemical Council of State’. It
was to comprise twenty-four members, one-third technical chemists, one-third scientific
investigators and one-third analytical and consulting chemists. It was to collect information
on all aspects of the industry; to bring universities into contact with manufacturers; and
to advise Government. Members were to be paid a small retainer. Agents were to be
employed to visit factories and colleges. Eight members were to retire each year. The
proposed Council was ‘to resemble to some extent a Royal Commission’. It would be
appointed for ten years in the first instance. It would report annually to the Crown, but
would not be attached to any Government department, although it would be associated
with several. Non-political, it would be appointed by and directly responsible to the
Crown. The president of the Royal Society would initially nominate two technical chemists
and two scientific chemists. They, chaired by him, would choose twenty others.
