tional funds is demonstrated. If 

 the Government spends too 

 much in medical research, other 

 funds will be driven out and the 

 Government will be the sole 

 source of support. The schools 

 should remain free to elect the 

 potential donor to whom they 

 wish to apply. As Senator Pep- 

 per has stated, "Government 

 can not, and must not, take 

 the place of philanthropy and 

 industry in the sponsorship of 

 research." 



/. The establishment of life-time 

 research professorships, or of 

 protracted research fellowships, 

 at the expense of Federal funds 

 is considered unwise. In excep- 

 tional instances, as for example 

 when an in\'estigator demon- 

 strates unusual ability, or it is 

 desirable to relieve a senior and 

 experienced person from aca- 

 demic or clinical responsibilities 

 in order to free him for research, 

 support should be obtained from 

 general research funds or 

 through a grant-in-aid. 



g. A grave danger in any effort to 

 accelerate discovery is the ease 

 with which the quality of the 

 work can be lowered by encour- 

 aging men to undertake research 

 who are inadequately prepared 

 or unfitted for the task. Medi- 

 ocre research work in medicine 

 is not only apt to be useless, but 

 may prove dangerous by mis- 

 leading medical practice and by 

 fostering false hopes in the 



public. This danger must be 

 guarded against by constantly 

 encouraging confirmatory work 

 or "challenging investigations." 



h. The agency should not serve 

 merely as a mechanism for dis- 

 bursing funds for particular re- 

 search projects, but should 

 always attempt to maintain a 

 broad view of the needs of the 

 whole field of medical research. 



i. It is belie\'ed that it would be 

 unwise for a national body con- 

 cerned with medical research to 

 give prizes or otherwise to dis- 

 pense praise or blame. It is also 

 believed that this agency should 

 avoid even the semblance of 

 scientific authority. What is ac- 

 ceptable or unacceptable in 

 medicine must be established by 

 tested methods of examination 

 and not be made to appear as 

 such because of the imprimatur 

 of a national body. 



j. The agency should come to 

 share in the leadership of medi- 

 cal investigation by encouraging 

 individual initiative and free- 

 dom of research, and with a 

 careful avoidance of coercion 

 and regimentation, which might 

 lead not only to mediocre work 

 but to disastrous impairment of 

 the spirit of cooperation, and of 

 research itself. Individual scien- 

 tific curiosity, community of in- 

 terest and regard for the com- 

 mon weal must in peace replace 

 as a cohesive force the patriotism 

 of war. 



63 



