400 
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL 
War Department, 
the adjutant general's office, 
washington 
July 2, 1918 
From: The Adjutant General of the Army. 
To: The National Research Council, Washington, D. C. 
Subject: Information Section, Ordnance Department, and Research Information Com- 
mittee. 
1. The Secretary of War directs that you be informed as follows: 
2. The Research Information Committee was formed to establish machinery by means 
of which the General Staff of the Army and Navy, the scientific organizations in the United 
States who are working on problems connected with war production and invention, and the 
various committees of the Council of National Defense charged with work of this nature, 
may be put in touch with the developments and experimental work being carried on, not 
only in this country, but in Europe, and kept mutually informed of the state of develop- 
ment of work of this nature. 
3. In pursuance of the order of the Secretary of War, establishing this Committee and 
in order effectively to do this work, it is vitally necessary that the utmost of cordial co- 
operation be shown by each of the bureaus and committees in question with the Research 
Information Committee. To secure this the following is directed: 
(a) All military Bureaus requiring scientific and technical information are given official 
status on the Research Information Committee in Washington, D. C. 
(b) Representatives of Military Bureaus or of research committees collecting informa- 
tion abroad will be instructed, by their chiefs, to put themselves into direct relationship 
with the joint committees of the Research Information Committee sitting in Paris or Lon- 
don or later in Rome, in order that information be at once dispatched to the Research In- 
formation Committee at Washington, D. C. All communications of scientific investiga- 
tions or research shall be routed through these Channels, even though other channels are 
employed at the same time. 
(c) Official means of intercommunication, such as memorandums, bulletins and the 
like, between Bureaus of the Army and Committees for research shall be developed to such 
a degree of efficiency by the Research Information Committee that the distribution of infor- 
mation shall be practically automatic. 
(d) Before sending officers or civilians abroad for investigation work, all Army Bureaus 
or civilian research committees shall get in touch with the Research Information Committee 
at Washington, D. C. for information and guidance. 
(e) The present method of routing information memoranda for file and distribution 
through the Military Intelligence Branch will not be discontinued. 
(f) You will immediately notify this office and the Research Information Committee 
of the name of the officer who shall represent your Bureau before the Research Information 
Committee. 
By order of the Secretary of War: 
(Signed) Paul Gdddings, 
Adjutant General. 
Moved: That a medical representative be appointed for the Paris office of the Research 
Information Committee, provided the expenses can be met from the Medical Division or 
from outside sources. (Adopted.) 
Engineering Division. — Reference was made to the affiliation with engi- 
neering societies and the forming of an advisory board composed of repre- 
sentatives of the chief engineering societies. Ambrose Swasey and John R. 
Freeman, were elected members of the Division, and W. J. Lester was elected 
