<--PREV Doc #476  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  Second Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #478 Document #477; November 25, 1957 To Lewis Lichtenstein Strauss Series: EM, AWF, DDE Diaries Series The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XVIII - The Presidency: Keeping the Peace Part III: The Space Age Begins; October 1957 to January 1958 Chapter 6: Sputnik and "the fears of our own people"   Dear Lewis: The purpose of this note is to invite you to ride on the Columbine with me when we go to Paris.1 Possibly a trip like this will give us a chance to talk about one development, as I sense it from the papers, that troubles me greatly. This is the extent to which generals, admirals and laymen are talking on science, and conversely, the extent to which scientists have suddenly become military and political experts.2 All of these seem to be obsessed with a consuming desire to "tell all."3 It reminds me of an old German folk song involving a quack doctor. A rough translation was: "I make the blind so they can hear; I make the deaf so they can see."4 With warm regard, As ever P.S. By the general term "admirals" I do not, of course, mean one particular one who is an authority in the field to which I refer!5 1 On the upcoming NATO meeting see no. 444. Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Strauss would accompany the President to Paris on December 13. 2 The launching of the Russian satellites Sputnik I and Sputnik II on October 4 and November 3 had produced increasing anxiety and disagreement among military, political, and scientific experts about the capabilities of the American satellite programs. As a result, Eisenhower had appointed a special assistant for science and technology to coordinate the nation's scientific efforts. For background see nos. 389, 394, 447, and New York Times, November 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 1957; see also Medaris, Countdown for Decision, pp. 165 - 79. During the October 5 news conference one reporter had asked about the military significance of satellites. To the amusement of the attendees Eisenhower had replied: "Suddenly all America seems to become scientists, and I am hearing many, many ideas" (see Public Papers of the Presidents: Eisenhower, 1957, p. 724). 3 Eisenhower was referring to atomic scientist Edward H. Teller, who had appeared before a Senate investigating committee the preceding day. Teller, known for his work in developing the hydrogen bomb, had said that the Soviet launching of Sputnik I and Sputnik II "was a greater defeat for our country than Pearl Harbor" (see Telephone conversation, Eisenhower and Strauss, Nov. 25, 1957, AWF/D; see also New York Times, Nov. 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 1957; Ann Whitman memorandum, Nov. 15 - 21, 1957, AWF/AWD, and Maxwell D. Taylor, Swords and Plowshares [New York, 1972], pp. 164 - 77). 4 Eisenhower was probably referring to the German-American folk song, "Doktor Eisenbart" (Correspondence, J. A. Gray, Library of Congress, Oct. 1, 1997, EP). 5 Strauss had been a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy during World War II. Later this afternoon the President would suffer a cerebral occlusion. For Eisenhower's account of the stroke see his memoir, Waging Peace, pp. 227 - 30; see also John S. D. Eisenhower, Strictly Personal, pp. 195 - 97, and Adams, Firsthand Report, pp. 195 - 97. For developments see no. 480. Bibliographic reference to this document: Eisenhower, Dwight D. To Lewis Lichtenstein Strauss, 25 November 1957. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 477. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/second-term/documents/477.cfm <--PREV Doc #476  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  Second Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #478

Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission 1629 K Street, NW Suite 801 Washington DC 20006 Phone: 202.296.0004    Fax: 202.296.6464