NDRC OF OSRD: THE CHAIRMAN S OFFICE 73 



as follows: (i) It should keep NDRC fully informed as to the progress of 

 the divisions in carrying out their programs. (2) It should supplement the 

 work of the reviewing subcommittees in interpreting to the divisions the 

 policies and programs of NDRC. (3) It should review any borderline mat- 

 ter handled by a division, that is, any matter not clearly within the estab- 

 lished program and pohcy of NDRC, referring to NDRC important mat- 

 ters on which it might be in doubt as to policy. (4) It should recommend 

 for consideration by NDRC policies which it considered advisable for 

 general conduct of affairs in the field of research and development of in- 

 strumentalities of warfare. (5) It should insure that the divisions were 

 properly constituted to carry out the functions delegated to them under 

 contracts recommended by NDRC. There was a corresponding obligation 

 on the Division and Section Chiefs acting as the technical representatives 

 on contracts to keep in close contact with the Chairman's Office. 



The review of Service projects forced by the tightening manpower situa- 

 tion late in 1944 threw a substantial burden on the Chairman's Office. Both 

 new projects and those already under way were reviewed from the stand- 

 point of priority and for their probable usefulness in the current war. The 

 Committee consistently followed the recommendation of the Chairman's 

 Office in determining which projects would be continued. 



With the cessation of hostilities there was no occasion for additional 

 NDRC meetings and the Chairman was authorized to work out termina- 

 tion schedules within the framework of the OSRD demobilization pro- 

 gram. Programs requested from the divisions and panels were reviewed 

 and revised in the Chairman's Office. One by one the division offices were 

 closed as the technical work under contract was terminated, transferred 

 to the Services or abandoned and the usual flow of reports diminished to 

 a trickle. As each division folded, its residual work was transferred to a 

 Division Administrative Group set up in the Chairman's Ofl&ce. Finally, 

 the Chairman's Office itself was terminated on December 31, 1946, and 

 the Division Administrative Group was transferred to the office of the 

 Executive Secretary of OSRD. 



The position of the Chairman's Office was one of great influence but 

 relatively little power. The Division Chiefs were able men of high stand- 

 ing, leaders in the fields within which their divisions operated. They 

 were accustomed to independence in research and felt little need for the 

 interposition of any body between them and the NDRC. The fact that 

 Conant and Moreland were recognized as leaders in their respective fields 

 made it possible for the Chairman's Office to wield great influence al- 

 though they were careful not to take any position which might be con- 

 strued as one of compulsion over the divisions. The Of&ce was especially 

 effective in keeping a program from being bogged down within a divi- 



