DEMOBILIZATION OF OSRD 313 



on August 29. Approval of the schedule was given by the Director of 

 OWMR on August 31, 1945. A comparable schedule of CMR projects was 

 approved by OWMR on September 18. The final outcome closely approxi- 

 mated that suggested in Bush's letter of August 16, 1945, to the President 

 outlining Bush's plans for the termination of OSRD. 



Copies of the approved demobilization schedule for each division and 

 panel were sent to the Division and Panel Chiefs, and except for minor 

 modifications necessitated by the speed with which the original schedule 

 had been drafted, were put into effect. At its meeting on September 14, 

 1945, the Committee formally approved the action which had been taken 

 since its last meeting and about which the individual members of the 

 Committee had been apprised as it was being taken. 



The demobilization program for NDRC was carried out with only slight 

 variations from the plan originally approved. This was facilitated by the 

 fact that most NDRC contracts still carried an August 31, 1945, termina- 

 tion date when Japan surrendered. Most of them either were allowed to 

 expire on that date or were given a thirty-day extension to cover the filing 

 of reports. Work of continuing importance was carried until October 31, 

 or in a few cases for a slightly longer time, in order to let the Services 

 make arrangement for its continuance under other contracts or in their 

 own laboratories. The limited amount of fundamental research on weapons, 

 continued under OSRD auspices pending the creation of a research foun- 

 dation, was at the rate of approximately $1,000,000 per year. Except for 

 that, the total NDRC activity after January i, 1946, was concentrated on 

 report writing and upon the details of closing out a going concern. 



Termination Plans for Medical Research 



The first discussion of demobilization plans by CMR occurred at the 

 meeting on August 3, 1944, when Richards reported that the Advisory 

 Council at its meeting the next day was to consider future plans for OSRD. 

 Although the Committee adopted no formal expression of opinion, the con- 

 sensus was that upon the termination of OSRD provision should be made 

 for the continuance of some of the fundamental research projects being 

 sponsored by the CMR; that some of the contracts should be turned over 

 to the Army, the Navy and the Public Health Service; and that an effort 

 should be made to advance each CMR-sponsored project to the point at 

 which it could be most advantageously turned over to other Government or 

 private agencies. 



Discussion was renewed at the next meeting of the Committee on Au- 

 gust 17, 1944. Admiral Smith indicated that while the Navy might take 

 over some projects, it would not take over OSRD contracts. General Sim- 

 mons expressed vigorous opposition to any plan to discontinue the activities 



