OCR Text |
Show Science Talent Quest Shows Aid To Progress By BAUKIIAGE ISrtrn Analyst and Commentator WASHINGTON I don't often go into such intimate matters as private murders in these columns, but I have been impressed lately to see the results of the untrammelled spirit of modern youth, whose repressions and inhibitions have been removed by thoughtful parents who use reason instead of the cruel discipline such as 1 have suffered having to go to bed without supper, for instance, when I was impudent to my elders, or being kept in the house for throwing my arithmetic at the cat instead of doing my homework, or having my mouth washed out with acme soap when I used language unbecoming a future commentator. Recently a pretty little orunette who was irkec. by having to leave the city to dwell with her parents in some dull rural area of Missouri rebelled. re-belled. After shooting Mama and Papa, she stuffed them behind the mfa and tried to dispose of their property. Then there was the poor little seventh-grader who smarted under thoughtless taunting by a farmer far-mer who thought the youth displayed poor form in sawing wood. The boy ihot the old man and dumped him In a creek. There was the 18-year-old girl from Portsmouth. Va.. who playfully sprayed five Gl.'i with revolver shots in a shooting gallery, and the six girls, aged 14 to 16, who beat up their female gym Instructor In a Bronx high school. Of course 1 am not old-fashioned enough to encourage corporal punishment, punish-ment, but it does seem that a littlo ' less sparing of the rod .might have prevented spoiling the crime record of the peaceful communities from which these youngsters came. re rhaps it wouldn't have helped, though, when the nations of the world set such bad examples. I couldn't help thinking of a paragraph para-graph In the concluding chapter oX that highly Important and revealing book by former Secretary of State Cordell Hull. Said Hull (and 1 can ice him leaning back as he dictated, looking over the wide sweep of the Maryland landscape, letting his thoughts go back over the rich days of his years): "We have a desperate need for more religion and morality as the background fpr government. The religious and moral foundations (or thought and conduct require strengthening here as well as throughout the world. There is no higher civilizing Influence than religious re-ligious and moral concepts. Corruption Corrup-tion and tyranny can be driven nut of government only when these concepts con-cepts give men the faculty to recognize rec-ognize such evils and the strength to eliminate them.", In these daya when we hear ao many unpleasant references to the atom bomb, It was a relief to the national capital to get Its annual reminder that the people who know most about atomic energy think far more about how it can promote human welfare than about how It can extinguish human life. Sixteen thousand high-schoolers presented themselves this year as possible winners In the seventh annual an-nual Westinghouse science talent search. After rigorous elimination testa, 40 finalists were selected to come to Washington for talks with scientists, visits to Capitol Hill and the White House and conversations with their colleagues. These 40 students have reasonable reason-able assurance of scholarships of $1,000 each from various sources, aside from the search awards, while the two lucky top winners each are . given $2,400 with which to continue their studies. There was another Interesting thing about this year's awards-the revelation that America still is drawing draw-ing heavily on the Old World for its scientific talent The boy who won the top prize was bom in Budapest. 'foil ' Andrew Krnde display! his experiment ex-periment with new solvents to reduce re-duce explosion naiards. - He (s Andrew Kende, a 13-year-old chemist, a handsome youngster, five feet eight Inches tall. Of the 40 finalists, final-ists, five were bom in Europe, and 28 parents of the 40 finalists were foreign born. The girl winner was 17-year-old Barbara Claire Wolff of Flushing, L. 1., (where the United Nations has Its headquarters although there is no connection). All the contestants must have worked on a special scientific sci-entific project, and Miss Wolff devoted de-voted her time to production of phenocopies. Now, If you raise fruit, you will be Interested In this, although al-though you probsbly wvuldn't recognize recog-nize a phenncopy if you met It on ine of your strolls through your orchard. r A phenocopy is a change a chance in the body-shape of a fruit fly. The fly itself will not be permitted per-mitted to get at your fruit. Its crks have been dyed and irradiated, observation ob-servation of which processes In the long run probably will help the fruit Industry. When Miss Wolff isn't dying dy-ing eggs and Irradiating them she x i V - i r v ' 1 1 5 , i : nr ' i ' ' W J M 11 k f r n Cyji" y Barbara Claire Wolff, who plans to become a geneticist, is shown with the equipment she uses to produce phenocopies. Is editing her school paper, playing badminton, studying, and, we suppose, sup-pose, practicing the modern dance and enjoying her clubs, which include in-clude moth, cancer and microscopy organizations. Young Kcndc's project has to do with removing or reducing explosion hazards in the chemical processes by which such modern synthetics as the silicones, sex hormones and some synthetic rubbers are produced commercially. com-mercially. Some day, thanks to him, men and women may be able to face the most alluring hormone or the most explosive overshoe or automobile automo-bile tire in comparative safety, and may even be able to walk right up to a silicone and slap it on the bark. The 40 finalists were reminded by Watson Davis, Science Service director; di-rector; Harlow Shapley, director of Harvard college observatory, and W. W. Waymack, atomic energy commissioner, com-missioner, that It is not, enough these days, however, for scientists to stick to their scientific last, letting the rest of the world go by. As Dr. Shapely put It: "Don't be so laborlou In your laboratories labora-tories that you Ignore your responsibilities respon-sibilities at citizens." And as War-mack War-mack warned: "Nowadays the scientists sci-entists must not only aid In the creation of knowledge, but In the dissemination and use of that knowledge for the general wel fare." Unfortunately, there are all too few trained scientists in this atomic age. As the report of the President's scientific research board pointed out, the technological and scientific progress prog-ress of this country depends upon one-half of 1 per cent of our population-some 750.000 persons. This small group comprises the trained manpower -the scientists, technicians techni-cians and engineers upon which the operation and the expansion of our economy depends. And those actually actual-ly engaged in scientific research, technical development or teaching compr.se a much smaller group within this pool -only 137,000 persons. The science talent search and similar sim-ilar projects undertaking to discover and encourage youthful scientific talents are helping to ensure the future fu-ture security and prosperity of ih United States which depend as never before on the rapid extensior of scientific knowledge not only oe cause the laboratory Is the first tine of defense In wartime and the scientist sci-entist is the Indispensable warrior but also because icientific discovery is the basis for our progress again' poverty and disease. ExG.I.'s can upset the 'budget again this yenr. In its attempt U trim Mr. Trumnn'i spending, con Kress makes no allowance tor nearly near-ly 500 million dollars still unclnlmei in terminal leave jay due enlistee men. The President's bulging bud get set aside only five million dollari for this Item, Just 1 per cent of th total possible cost. In contrast to the usual Hollywoot practice, the government's film pro duction includes none of the uiua "thrillers." Latest 23 minute shor subjeci made by Uncle Snin bean the prosaic title, "Toward a Unl form Plumbing Code " Other recen "suckerims" cover movies on blislel rust control, Japanese agriculture foot and mouth disease. Some of the people who say the; would rather be right than presUIri don't get the chance Uiey decrv |