1338 



office paralleling one that the British had maintained in Washington 

 since 1940. Its purpose was "to expedite the interchange of basic 

 scientific information" by assigning to it distinguished scientists from 

 this country.'^ 



The plan initialh^ called for the establishment of a permanent 

 "United States Mission on Science and Technology" of five officers 

 (i.e., Foreign Service officers) and two clerical personnel. Chief of the 

 Mission would be Dr. Earl A. Evans, Jr., professor and chairman of 

 the department of biochemistry of the University of Chicago. He was 

 to be supported by Mr. Ervin Anderson, of the International Re- 

 sources Division of the Department of State who had been active 

 in the "development of the economic offices science and technology 

 program." ** 



The new mission would replace Green's group, located in the 

 Embassy but reporting to the Department of Commerce. (This 

 mission had been transferred to the Department of State and Foreign 

 Service the previous year — December 15, 1946— by Secretary Averell 

 Harriman, when he replaced Secretary Henr^- Wallace as head of the 

 Department of Commerce; apparently it had remained inactive 

 throughout 1947.) 



The new mission started bravely enough. It had been designed b3'- 

 an interagenc}' committee under the chairmanship of the Assistant 

 Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, and composed of representa- 

 tives of the Departments of Army, Nav}', Commerce, Agriculture, 

 and Interior, and of the Federal Security Agency, the Research and 

 Development Board, and the National Academy of Sciences. This 

 committee would continue, it was understood, in a backstopping 

 role as "parent of the mission in all substantive matters. . . ." The 

 "mission" had received support and endorsement from .such members 

 of the scientific community as Dr. Bush; Dr. Steelman; Dr. Frank 

 Jewett; and Dr. Merle A. Tuve and Mr. Paul A. Shearer of the 

 Carnegie Institution of Washington. The Secretar^^ of State had also 

 obtained assurances of support for the mission in correspondence from 

 four members of the cabinet. 



In notifying the Embassy in London of the program, the Secretary 

 of State in a memorandum of October 22, 1947, indicated that the 

 mission would be "permanently attached to the Embassy." A later 

 memorandum, December 26, from the Acting Secretary of State, 

 explained that to "make it clear that the group vmder Dr. Evans is an 

 integral part of the Embassy staff and is not operating as an independ- 

 ent organization," he was designated "Chief Scientific Officer." To 

 differentiate the new arrangement from the previous "Mission for the 

 Exchange of Industrial Technology" (the Commerce Department's 

 science office, which had also been attached to the Embassy), its 

 functions were explicitly directed toward the expediting of the flow 

 to the United States of basic scientific information. 



OUTPUT OF THE LONDON OFFICE 



Dr. Evans began his tour of duty in London during Christmas week, 

 1947. Two months later he rendered a first report of accomplishment. 



'3 U.S. Department of State, Memorandum, no. 506, from Acting Secretary of State to the Officer in 

 Charge of tlie American Mission in London, December 26, 1947, p. 2. 



" U.S. Department of State, Memorandum, no. 425, from Secretary of State to the Officer in Charge of 

 the American Mission in London, October 22, 1947, p. 2. Also, background supplied by interview with 

 John C. Green. 



