3l6 ORGANIZING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FOR WAR 



cember 31, 1945, all OSRD contracts entered into on CMR recommenda- 

 tion be discontinued or transferred to other Government agencies together 

 with funds to provide for their continuation until June 30, 1946. The 

 Committee discussed this memorandum on May 17. In view of the un- 

 certainties as to the agency which might succeed to CMR-recommended 

 contracts, members of the Committee doubted the feasibility of the rec- 

 ommendation for transfer prior to December 31, 1945. 



Following the end of the European war, Bush addressed another mem- 

 orandum to the CMR on June 4, 1945, repeating that the affairs of the 

 Committee should be kept in a "fluid condition" with CMR prepared to 

 terminate some contracts and to transfer others. He set December 31, 1945, 

 as the date beyond which CMR contracts would not presently be extended. 



Following the end of hostilities with Japan and in line with the Presi- 

 dent's request for information on specific programs. Bush sent Richards a 

 memorandum on August 24, 1945, requesting Richards to give him a 

 summary of CMR projects with proposed plans for their handling. He 

 indicated that the plans should be prepared in accordance with these prin- 

 ciples: 



1. Medical research of predominatingly military application should be 

 transferred to the armed services or terminated. 



2. Research programs with an important value apart from the military 

 field, which were properly within the scope of operations of the Public 

 Health Service, and which that Service was willing to undertake with the 

 expectation of continuing as long as the results and the public interest 

 justify continuance, should be transferred to the Public Health Service 

 together with funds which had been budgeted for their continuance dur- 

 ing the current fiscal year. 



3. Research programs with an important value apart from the military 

 field and which could best be conducted by private research groups should 

 be transferred to them as far as they were willing to accept responsibility 

 for them. 



4. Research programs of substantial potential value which could best be 

 furthered under the auspices of a federal agency, a part of the program 

 of which was support of medical research, should be continued for the 

 present in the expectation that such a federal agency would be created by 

 Congress. At present, continuation for this purpose would not be provided 

 for beyond February 28, 1946. 



5. Programs not coming under any of the above should be placed on 

 such a basis that a completed piece of work would have been accomplished 

 not later than February 28, 1946. If the program was of such a nature that 

 this could not be done, steps should be taken for a prompt termination. 



The Division Chiefs and the Committee proceeded promptly with the 

 classification of contracts in accordance with the Director's instructions; 



