research. Therefore, a professional partnership between the officers in the 

 Services and civiHan scientists is needed. 



The Armv and Na\v should continue to carry on research and de\'elopment 

 on the improvement of current weapons. For manv years the National 

 Ad\'isory Committee for Aeronautics has supplemented the work of the Army 

 and Navy by conducting basic research on the problems of flight. There 

 should now be permanent ci\'ilian acti\'ity to supplement the research work 

 of the Services in other scientific fields so as to carry on in time of peace 

 some part of the actixities of the emergency wartime Office of Scientific 

 Research and De\'elopment. 



Military preparedness reciiiires a pernianeiit independent, civilian-contyoUed 

 organization, having close liaison with the Army and Navy, but with funds 

 directly jrovi Congress and with the clear power to initiate military research 

 which will supplement and strengthen that carried on directly under the 

 control of the Army and Navy. 



I 

 Science and Jobs 



One of our hopes is that after the v\'ar there will be full employment, and 

 that the production of goods and ser\'ices will ser\'e to raise our standard of 

 living. We do not know yet how we shall reach that goal, but it is certain 

 that it can be achieved only by releasing the full creati\'e and productive 

 energies of the American people. 



Surely we will not get there by standing still, merely by making the same 

 things we made before and selling them at the same or higher prices. We 

 will not get ahead in international trade unless we offer new and more 

 attractive and cheaper products. 



Where will these new products come from? How will we find ways to 

 make better products at lower cost? The answer is clear. There must be a 

 stream of new scientific knowledge to turn the wheels of pri\'ate and public 

 enterprise. There must be plenty of men and women trained in science and 

 technology for upon them depend both the creation of new knowledge and 

 its application to practical purposes. 



More and better scientific research is essential to the achievement of our 

 goal of full employment. 



The Importance of Basic Research 



Basic research is performed without thought of practical ends. It results 

 in general knowledge and an understanding of nature and its laws. This 

 general knowledge provides the means of answering a large number of im- 

 portant practical problems, though it ma\' not give a complete specific answer 

 to any one of them. The function of applied research is to provide such 

 complete answers. The scientist doing basic research may not be at all inter- 

 ested in the practical applications of his work, yet the further progress of 

 industrial development would e\entually stagnate if basic scientific research 

 were long neolccted. 



One of the peculiarities of basic science is the variety of paths which lead 



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