Part: 12         Session: 123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536         Page 152153154155156157158159160161162163164165166167168169170171172173174175176177178179180181 of 1143

departments, but there was no general effort until the bill finally passed in 1950.

Why isn't is possible, Mrs. Lasker, to separate a man's personal philosophy from the cause for which he is working when the cause itself has such merit?

Yes, I really don't know. It's a mystery.

In any case, in the spring of 1950, the National Science Foundation Bill actually finally passed the House, as it had passed the Senate before, and became law. This happened after five years of difficulties. Actually, as it was initially stimulated by me and as I had tried to get it passed in the beginning, I was greatly interested in it, but by the time it passed I was anxious for fear there would be some effort to put the New Institutes of Health, which we had between '45 and '50 been able to get passed, under the National Science Foundation Bill. This we managed to avoid, thank goodness.

Which would have complicated the whole picture, would it have not?

Yes, very much, because in those intervening five years we got the Public Health Service deeply committed to the field of medical research and the Public Health Service was really where medical research belonged.