In this revolution, research has become central; it also becomes more formalized,
complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the
direction of, the Federal government.
Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering
in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and
testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead
of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct
of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes
virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there
are now hundreds of new electronic computers.
The prospect of domination of
the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of
money is ever present
and is gravely to be regarded.
Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we
must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself
become the captive of a scientifictechnological elite.
It is the task of statesmanship
to mold, to balance, and to integrate these and other forces, new and old, within
the principles of our democratic system -- ever aiming toward the supreme goals of
our free society.
V.
Another factor in maintaining balance involves
the element of time. As we peer into society's future, we -- you and I, and our government
-- must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and
convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material
assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and
spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not
to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow.