“What poems does your employer recommend to promote the study of science?” “He concedes a shortage of these, but he is forcefully opposed to rationalists. All the worse if they are rational and foreign.”
The school principal, Cutler, is opposed to individuals (his teachers) who rely on reason and logic (rationalists), especially if they are foreigners. It's commentary on the dangers of nationalism, isolationism, and the rejection of global cooperation and expertise. It highlights the tension between those who value reason and evidence, over religious beliefs only.
