II 



WAR SERVICES OF THE NATIONAL 

 RESEARCH COUNCIL 



GEORGE ELLERY HALE 



BROADLY speaking, the organizations of scientific men ef- 

 fected in this country and in Europe under the influence 

 of the war were of two classes: (i) those temporarily con- 

 stituted, either as separate groups or as parts of existing 

 branches of the army or navy, to deal with military, naval, or 

 industrial problems : and (2) those permanently established 

 for the promotion and development of scientific and industrial 

 research. They therefore correspond to the two general ef- 

 fects that such a war must inevitably produce in unprepared 

 countries, the Governments of which have lacked adequate ap- 

 preciation of the national value of science : A sudden demand 

 for military and naval equipment of new types and for products 

 formerly imported from enemy countries, and an almost equally 

 sudden recognition of the fact that science and research must 

 henceforth be recognized and developed as national assets of 

 the first importance. 



It is obviously impossible within the limits of this book to 

 describe the work of these numerous organizations or even 

 to mention their names, though some typical illustrations of 

 their activities may be found in subsequent chapters. It is to 

 be hoped that adequate reports will be published of the work 

 of such bodies as the Naval Consulting Board and others, both 

 military and civil, that played a prominent part in the war. 

 When temporarily constituted, their history forms an impor- 

 tant part of the war record. But when permanently estab- 



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