January 2006
Tuxedo Park, Jennet Conant, Simon & Schuster (2002).
Alfred Loomis was a bona fide “Wall Street tycoon” who made his fortune in the 1920s by helping to organize the financing for the electrification of America and had the foresight to sell out before the stock market crash in 1929. Thereafter, he became an amateur scientist who cultivated the best and the brightest in the scientific world and maintained a laboratory complex in an enclave of the wealthy named Tuxedo Park.
As the Second World War approached our shores, this activity became increasingly urgent – no longer the indulgence of a rich and brilliant man’s fancy, but a matter of great national importance. The die was cast when his older cousin and long-time mentor, Henry Stimson, was appointed by President Roosevelt as Secretary of War.
Loomis assumed responsibility for a newly created laboratory at MIT that developed sophisticated new radar systems (building on work that had been done in England) at breakneck speed that played a vital role in winning the war. He also supported the atomic bomb program, in this case acting as a collaborator with and expediter for the people directly responsible.
It would be hard to imagine a more vivid account of the key people in this saga, the challenges they faced (including getting around bureaucratic budget rules and overcoming irrational objections), and their inestimable contribution to our country’s victory. They weren’t perfect human beings, and their accomplishments would leave the world with many new problems. Still, we can and should be proud and inspired by the things that they accomplished.
Do our leaders today have the same knack for figuring out the things that need to be done and going after them? One wonders, given all the issues that are being allowed to fester for no good reason despite the existence of obvious solutions. It’s been 30 years since a new petroleum refinery was built in the United States due to shortsighted and burdensome government policies. Congress can’t seem to summon the will to drill for oil in the Alaskan National Wildlife Reserve, and one of the critics’ most potent arguments is “oh well, there isn’t enough oil in there to make us energy independent anyway.” Even the idea of dredging the shipping channel in the Delaware River to a depth of 45 feet (vs. the current 40 feet) is being blocked, based on claims that the anticipated benefits are exaggerated and/or offset by asserted environmental damage.
Why are U.S., firms racing to “outsource” their manufacturing operations to China, India, etc.? The answer is not hard to figure out, and the long-term consequences will not be to our liking.