Besides making possible a larger number of research projects than at any time since its inception in 1924, the apportionment of the Milton Fund this year is notable for its humanistic flavor. Created "in the interest of, or for promoting the physical and material welfare and prosperity of the human race", the Fund has in its present awards succeeded in providing for work in close harmony with the original ideals of its founder. That research study in the humanities is often neglected for more technical investigation, the significance of which the layman often fails to see, is perhaps natural under the increasingly mechanical dominance of our civilization. But the other field can not be entirely overlooked without destroying the balance between man and his machines.

Perhaps the most interesting of the awards is that given Professor La Piana to complete his work on the History of the Catholic Church in the United States. Various considerations, notably the inherent American distrust of emphasis on organized religion as a social force have hitherto prevented this field from receiving proper treatment. Only recently with the increasing interest in history as the story of men rather than of their generals has the importance of an institution, which has never had political aspirations on this continent been recognized. Such aid as is now given to the study of this virtually virgin territory promotes the "welfare and prosperity of the human race" in a very comprehensive sense.