305 



THE POLITICAL RESPONSE 



Interest in the IGY was not confined to the World scientific 

 community, but was shared by th6 various governments concerned, 

 by heads of state, and by the public at large. This interest was aroused 

 by the strong appeal of the IGY as a cooperative venture representing 

 many nations working together for the Denefit of all mankind. Con- 

 sequently, the collective response of the many legislative bodies arid 

 governments whose approval was necessary ' to' make the program a 

 success was on a far more generous scale than that prompted by any 

 previous international scientific enterprise. 



Governmental support consisted not only of unprecedented financial 

 contributions, but also of equally valuable and necessary logistic 

 support. Governments cooperated by facilitating the movement of 

 participating scientists from one country to another, and in assuring 

 prompt movement through customs of scientific equipment upon which 

 the various programs depended. President Eisenhower, in a White 

 House press release on June 25, 1954, called the IGY "a striking 

 example of the opportunities which exist for cooperative action among 

 the peoples of the world." M Pope Pius XII commended the effort as 

 one likely to contribute to peace and cooperation among all people 

 and to their material well-being. 27 Widespread interest in the IGY 

 was aroused in the general public by numerous articles in the daily 

 press and in popular magazines. Consequently, more was undoubtedly 

 known concerning the IGY than had been the case for any previous 

 international scientific effort, and expectations were correspondingly 

 raised. 



Although it would seem unlikely that no voices were raised in 

 protest concerning an effort of this cost and magnitude, such ex- 

 pressions do not appear to have survived the passage of time. Vir- 

 tually no criticism of the IGY exists throughout the vast quantity 

 of published material concerning it. Congressional debate on the 

 IGY during the period 1954-59 was almost devoid of criticism. 

 Similarly, appropriations hearings and committee reports accompany- 

 ing appropriations bills did not criticize the scientific intent of the 

 effort, but were largely limited to discussions of the reliability of cost 

 estimates made by scientists. Thus the question was never "whether" 

 but "how much," as discussed later. 28 



Organization and Funding of the IGY 



One of the outstanding features that characterized the IGY was 

 the relative smoothness and efficiency with which its governing 

 apparatus functioned despite the enormous size of the effort. Partly, 

 this success was due to the utilization by the scientific community 

 of existing organizations and institutions wherever feasible. Of 

 perhaps even greater significance, however, was the ability on the 

 part of the IGY leadership to structure the urdertaking so as to 



* U.8. President (Eisenhower), "Letter to Dr. Chester I. Barnard, Chairman, National Science Board, 

 Concerning United States Participation in the International Geophysical Year. June 26, 1964." In: Public 

 Papers of the Pre*iderU$ of the United States. Dwight D. Eisenhower (Washington: U.S. Government Printing 

 Office, 1954), p. 698. 



" Sidney Chapman, "The International Geophysical Year, 1957-58," Nature 175 (Jan. 8, 1955), p. 56. A sum- 

 mary of the Pope's remarks, as translated from the French by Lloyd Berkner, appears in U.S., Congress, 

 House, Committee on Appropriations, Independent Offices Appropriations for 196G, Hearings, 84th Cong., 

 1st sess., Feb. 9, 1955, p. 343. Subsequently referred to as House, Independent Offices Appropriations for 1956. 



«• For Congressional debates on the IGY, see the following in the Congressional Record: Vol. 100, pp. 

 10932, 11462-11464, 14807 (1954); vol. 101, pp. 4055, 4068, 7629 (1965); vol. 102, pp. 6267, 6209, 8358 (1956), and 

 vol. 104, pp. 14643, 17535 (1958). 



