0.6 The science-government compact: 1945-1950

We have no national policy for science. The Government has only begun to utilize science in the Nation’s welfare. There isno body within the Government charged with formulating or executing a national science policy. There are no standing committees of the Congress devoted to thisimportant subject. Science has been in the wings. It should be brought to the center of the stage—for in it lies much of our hope for the future.

— Science—The Endless Frontier , 1945

There must be a single point close to the President at which the most significant problems created in theresearch and development program of the Nation as a whole can be brought into policy discussions.

— A Program for the Nation , 1947

Scientific research daily becomes more important to our agriculture, our industry, and ourhealth.

—Harry S. Truman, 1948

In the wake of World War II, there was widespread acknowledgment of the contributions organized science had made to the alliedvictory, and scientists emerged from their ivory towers to be hailed as national heroes. President Truman praised the war efforts of physicists in a statementreleased immediately after the bombing of Hiroshima, saying, “But the greatest marvel is not the size of the enterprise, its secrecy, or its cost, but theachievement of scientific brains in putting together infinitely complex pieces of knowledge held by many men in different fields of knowledge into a workableplan.” New York Times (August 7, 1945). Secretary of War Henry Simpson was more effusive and personal: “No praise is too great for the unstinting efforts,brilliant achievements and complete devotion to the national interest of scientists in this country.”

Science became a media darling as well. The August 12 Sunday New York Times featured a report by Richard Lewis on Albert Einstein, who “explained the principles ofnuclear energy and did so in a manner simple enough that even I could understand what he was talking about.” The same edition noted that Princeton Universityplanned a series of weekly radio broadcasts on issues of current scientific interest featuring “university scientists who helped develop the atomic bomb.”The magazine titled its lead article “We Enter a New Era—the Atomic Age,” and an accompanying photo essay featured brief biographies of Marie and Pierre Curie,Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, and Ernest Lawrence.

The front page of the August 15 Times , announcing the surrender of Japan, also reported on “Secrets of Radar Given to the World,” explaining that the OSRD hadfinally been permitted to release the full story of what Sir Stafford Cripps, a member of wartime British Prime Minister Churchill’s inner circle, was quoted ascalling, “the greatest invention of the war.” General David Sarnoff, President of the Radio Corporation of America, flatly asserted, “If a statesman believesthat his country’s interest would be better served by isolation than by participation in a world security organization, let me suggest that he debatethis question with a scientist rather than a politician.” New York Times (August 8, 1945). And the Times , after acknowledging the singular scientific achievement of the bomb, asked editorially, “Is this to be the end? Are we tolapse into the old more or less nationalistic pursuit of science when great issues are at stake? Why can’t there be more international cooperation indealing with arthritis, cancer, hormones, vitamins, or for that matter the whole field of science?”