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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 March 2022
Medical research is still in its infancy. Within the memory of many of us, medical knowledge has made more progress than had been achieved in all the preceding time since the beginning of history. We have witnessed the reduction of our death rate, the extension of our life span and the achievement of a general state of health hitherto unknown.
Paper presented at the symposium on The History and Philosophy of Science, at the Meeting of the A.A.A.S., Cleveland, September 11–16, 1944.
2 It is true that infantile paralysis leaves some of its victims crippled, but the number seriously crippled is not excessive. It is estimated that there are 2.6 million cripples from various causes in this country. At the same time, 15.8 million people are disabled because of diseases of the heart, arteries and kidneys, and because of rheumatism and arthritis. This is in addition to 5 million disabled because of old age, 1 million because of cancer, 0.9 million because of venereal diseases, and 0.7 billion each due to tuberculosis and to diabetes. These figures were compiled by Mrs. Albert D. Lasker and are printed through her courtesy.
3 In testifying on December 15, 1944 before the Senate Subcommittee on Wartime Health and Education, the author expressed the opinion that if the Federal Government is going to support peacetime medical research on a large scale, it should minimize its control over the research; and that “any distributing agency which is set up should have its duties definitely restricted and clearly defined.”