Evening star., 1955-06-02
Science and Survival

III SLIlhl1S departure 1T0m 1tS Gus
tomary call for governmental economizing,
the Hoover Commission now has singled
out field where 1t has found that more
Federal spending, not less, should be the
order OF the day. The field is that of scien-
tific research and development aimed at
promoting and safeguarding the health,
wealth and security of the Nation.
As recently as 1910, our Government
was investing only about 500 million an
nually in this field. Today, by way Of
contrast and as a measure of the vastly
increased pace and scale of scientific
change in the atomic hydrogen age, 1t is
investing in it (wholly apart from nuclear
energy) almost SIS billion year, or nearly
Is times as much as in the prewar period
And in addition, In the same field, private
industries and institutions are spending at
an annual rate of bit more than 50 billion
But even so, in the judgment of the Hoover
Commission, this is not enough.
Thus, although recognizing that the
present Federal programs represent the
largest integrated scientific and tech
nical endeavor that any nation has ever
attempted" the commission has warned
that greater investment of money and
effort is needed and that any economizing
for economys sake would be "false and
dangerous" This holds true for civilian as
well as military research, though the over
Whelming emphasis is and must be on the
latter. In the civilian area, for example,
the commissions report-which is based on
the findings of task force headed by the
distinguished DR.. Mervin j. Kelley-chides
the administration for having failed to
request funds to carry out backlog of 723
approved projects at the National Institutes
OF Health. And in the military area, while
warmly complimenting them for past
achievements, the report criticizes the
armed services for not being sufficiently
daring and imaginative" in undertaking
the development Of radically new weapons
and weapons systems phrase broad
enough to include such things as inter-
continental guided missiles, revolutionary
electronic devices, supertechnologica de-
fensive networks against air attack, and
perhaps even "earth satellite vehicles" or
so-called space ships"
Accordingly, concentrating primarily
on the need to maintain our leadership In
weaponry," the Hoover report offers Is
recommendations designed to increase the
efficiency, vigor, tempo and scope of the
Governments scientific endeavors. It also
makes special point Of urging that the
present relatively small annual outlay on
basic reSearch-abstract studies that NAV
not seem to be Immediately useful or
applicable-be Significantly increased"
And 1t declares, in support of this. that
I'VE owe to basic research the fabulous
Improvement in the health of the Nation:
the greatest industrial productivity known
to man; the weapons of defense which
have protected our independence; and our
knowledge of the laws which govern the
universe"
In all probability, some of the views
expressed In this report-notably those on
reorganizing the Pentagon's scientific ac-
tivities-will evoke lot of dissent. But
what is not challengeable, surely, is the
commissions plainly implied warning that
we would be gambling with our very sur
vival as Nation if we pinched pennies and
let potential aggressors take the lead from
us in research and development. There can
be no doubt about that.