Berry Supports Folsom On Research Aid Stand

Dr. George P. Berry, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, yesterday backed Health Secretary Marion Folsom's stand in opposing increased federal aid for medical research at this time. Folsom had testified last week that medical school facilities were presently inadequate to train specialists for additional research programs.

Medical schools are essential to developments in medical research, Berry argued, since the schools must train the scientists whose discoveries lead to progress. "Research centers are islands independent in themselves," away from many of the main trends of medical progress, he added.

Berry Praises Administration

Dean Berry praised the Administration's proposal to spend $250 million in the next five years in matching research centers' and medical schools' construction grants. "The government has for the first time really recognized the role of medical schools in pushing back ignorance in medicine," he stated.

Folsom had defended the Administration's medical budget against the alternate "Smith Bill," which would double the appropriations requested by the President for medical research as well as construction.

The bill, filed by Senator Margaret Chase Smith (R-Maine) would increase the proposed amounts to be disbursed at the discretion of the National Institutes of Health from $500 million to $1 billion in five years.

Mrs. Smith also proposes allotting $500 million within the next five years for a medical construction program. Universities would be eligible for about $70 million annually and research centers could receive $30 million, double the amounts suggested by the Administration.

Mrs. Smith's estimates are justified by the need for medical research, Dr. Sidney Farber, professor of Pathology, said yesterday. Folsom forgets, Farber maintained, that government assistance has a "pump-priming" effect on public contributions. The Administration's fears of overexpenditure are unjustified, especially since the appropriation is spread over a five-year period," Farber added.