224 



HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 



Mr. Karth. There were a number of people that got together and decided we 

 needed an electronic research lab. Who were they? 



Dr. Kelley. At least NASA senior management; I made a recommendation 



Mr. Karth. When you say the senior management, who do you mean? 



Dr. Kelley. The senior management basically is Dr. Seamans, Dr. Dryden and 

 Mr. Webb. 



Mr Karth. And yourself? You four decided? 



Dr. Kelley. I don't consider myself senior management 



Colonel Gould. I think this committee would like to know your thinking as to 

 what it is ultimately going to cost since this is the initial increment of this project. 



Dr. Kelley. No, we are waiting for the cost study and report. That is exactly 

 what we are doing it for, really. 



Mr. Karth. We have no design studies at all. * * * You think that one more 

 laboratory is going to answer all of our electronics problems? Is that what you are 

 saying? 



Dr. Kelley. It is going to allow us to focus our efforts and industry's efforts on 

 the problems which are quite substantial. 



Mr. Karth [continuing]. By saying that just one more laboratory is going to 

 solve 95 percent of the problems that we have in the space field, I think it's just about 

 as ridiculous a statement as I ever heard before this committee.* * * If that is necessary, 

 why, good grief, someone should have been fired for not having proposed this thing 

 five years ago. 



When Joe Karth began to raise a storm against the Electronics 

 Research Center in his subcommittee, Chairman Miller became very- 

 concerned about the fate of the Center and realized that Karth was in a 

 key position to block it. So Miller talked with Speaker McCormack 

 and asked him whether he could use his great persuasive power to 

 change Karth's mind. According to Karth: 



The Speaker called me in and he said: "This laboratory is to be built in Mas- 

 sachusetts, and we think it's necessary. We understand that you are opposing it, 

 and we think you should take one more look at it." 



And I said: "Mr. Speaker, I've looked at it as many times as I'm going to, and I 

 don't think that we need it, and therefore I don't think I can approve it." 



Although there were elements of power politics involved in the 

 discussions concerning the Electronics Research Center, Karth and 

 Webb have somewhat different recollections of the turn of events. On 

 June 11, 1963, Karth and Webb were on President Kennedy's appoint- 

 ment list, from 6:30 to 6:50 p.m. The appointment was shortened 

 because the President addressed the Nation that evening on the prob- 

 lems of desegregation at the University of Alabama. Colonel Gould 

 accompanied Karth to the White House, but did not attend the meeting 

 in the Oval Office. 



Karth found the President " very gracious," and " he put his arm 

 around me, I recall. He wanted to know all about my problems and then 

 he told me about his." The President, according to Karth, said that he 



