308 ORGANIZING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FOR WAR 



tive budget providing for a preliminary allocation of $78,250,000 among 

 the various divisions and panels. 



The Committee took the first direct step to curtail the activities of the 

 Radiation Laboratory at its meeting on April 6, 1945. That laboratory had 

 reached the stage where the rate of expenditure (including funds trans- 

 ferred to OSRD by the Services for equipment produced in the laboratory) 

 approximated $4,000,000 per month. To support activity on such a scale 

 it w^as necessary for the contractor to make substantial financial commit- 

 ments considerably in advance of the date upon which materials were to 

 be delivered. The action taken was to put a ceiling upon the amount of 

 those forward commitments, but in doing so the Committee agreed that 

 upon request of Division 14, it would review the ceiling whenever the 

 division could show concretely that it would work undue hardship upon 

 the division in carrying out its program. 



On May 7, 1945, Bush, in approving a resolution passed by NDRC, 

 made the following suggestions: 



1. New projects should be undertaken only when (a) the subject work 

 could be reasonably expected to be completed as far as research and devel- 

 opment was concerned but not necessarily as to final reporting before 

 June 30, 1946, or (b) the Services had definitely indicated that they would 

 take over and the subject work could be placed in form for transfer prior 

 to that date. 



2. In reviewing the division programs for the period following August 31, 

 1945, NDRC should note carefully the relation of each project to the cur- 

 rent war situation and provide an estimate of the date of completion of re- 

 search and development and the date at which the results of the project 

 might be expected to have an effect on the Japanese war. 



3. For the present, there should be no extensions of contracts beyond 

 August 31, 1945, except that in the case of large central laboratories pro- 

 vision might be made for one additional month. 



Before the Committee held its next meeting on May 18, 1945, Germany 

 had surrendered. On all new projects considered at that and subsequent 

 meetings the Committee adopted as a condition of its favorable action that 

 the conditions set by Bush on May 7 be met. Also at the May 18 meeting 

 Moreland reported that in response to a request from the Bureau of the 

 Budget, the Director, after consulting the Chairman's Office, had agreed to 

 release $18,000,000 of current OSRD funds of which $15,500,000 was from 

 funds which had been set aside for use upon recommendation of NDRC 

 and the remaining $2,500,000 from similar funds for CMR. 



On May 26, 1945, Bush addressed a further memorandum to NDRC 

 summarizing the policy governing the present consideration of the OSRD 

 program. He emphasized the essential soundness of the general policy an- 

 nounced in September 1944, and reiterated the obligations laid down at 



