486 



Keligious mission witnesses : Offered participation by their experienced 



personnel. 

 Labor, trade, and agi"iculture organization witnesses: Offered assist- 

 ance in manpower training programs; asked for development of 

 overseas programs in labor-management relations and labor stand- 

 ards. 



Decision. — Presidential proposal to encourage export of technology 

 became main feature of the bill as passed. Congi'ess added the inipor- 

 tant element of investment guarantees to encourage export of private 

 investment capital. The measure was regarded as essentially explor- 

 atory ; provision was made for annual oversight. 

 Decision locus. — Conference committee. 



Assessment. — This was the first major legislation explicitly aimed 

 at aid to developing comitries. It set in motion a major activity of 

 Government that has continued thereafter. It expected private business 

 to undertake an important share of the program. 



Commentary.— T\\^ problems presented by the President's proposal 

 were not well thought through by the Administration. The Congi-ess 

 was not advised of important obstacles to effective transfer of technol- 

 ogy, such as cultural resistance. Many specific problem areas were not 

 explored. U.S. personnel resources and development expertise were 

 overstated. The need for Government investment in transportation, 

 communications, and other "social overhead" capital items was not rec- 

 ognized. Subsequent controversies arose over the implementation of 

 the program. Some of the difficulties later encountered were foreseen 

 in the professional literature while the aid measure was under legis- 

 lative consideration. 



CASE THREE : INCLUSION OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES IN THE NATIONAL 



SCIENCE FOUNDATION (1946) 



Background. — Li "World "War II, applied science was mobilized in 

 support of U.S. military strength. As the war ended, ways were sought 

 to exploit this same expertise in support of peacetime programs of the 

 Government. Postwar proposals were advanced for a Government in- 

 stitution to sponsor basic research as the seedbed of applied scientific 

 creativity. The United States had traditionally been more apt in ap- 

 plied science than in basic ; the concept was that a National Science 

 Foundation (NSF) would support basic research directly, and thereby 

 stimulate applied research indirectly. Initial studies of the concept 

 were concerned with the physical, biological, and medical sciences. 

 Later, the role of the social sciences came into question. 



ProSZ^m.— Should the scope of the proposed NSF extend to the 

 social sciences? 



Access to Congress. — In his special message on reconversion, Sep- 

 tember 1945, President Truman requested creation of a science foun- 

 dation. He explicitly recommended that the social sciences be included 

 within its scope of interest. 



The facts. — At the request of President Roosevelt, Director Van- 

 nevar Bush of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, a 

 wartime scientific agency, had prepared a report on postwar science 

 needs. This report, made public in July 1945, called for creation of 

 an agency to sponsor basic research in peacetime. The Bush report 



