THE leading article “Knowledge and Power” in NATURE of March 25 strikes a resonant chord. I am a newcomer into the realms of officialdom, but my experience relates to a Department of State which is of new growth and not yet rooted in tradition. Aeronautics in Britain has had its foundations laid on a scientific basis, and technical staffs have been able to build on trustworthy data. In view of the fact that British aircraft obtained an absolute ascendancy over the craft of any other country, Allied or enemy, and that Britain was the only country with this scientific foundation, it is not unfair to regard the two facts as being, in some measure, cause and effect.