174 



ment of the requested $1 million for Mohole among five categories of 

 effort. (See table.) 



Fiscal year 

 1962 amount 



(1) Conduct of engineering studies necessary for the modification 



of the barge to be used as the drilling platform $300, 000 



(2) Final site surveys 200,000 



(3) Design, development, and acquisition of certain logging devices 



and other scientific equipment 300, 000 



(4) Scientific studies of logs and samples from phase I 100,000 



(5) AMSOC committee staff and panel work 100,000 



Total ' 1, 000, 000 



1 Ibid., p. 447. 



Separate hearings on Mohole were conducted by the House Sub- 

 committee on Oceanography of the Committee on Merchant Marine 

 and Fisheries, under the chairmanship of Representative George P. 

 Miller, May 22, 1961. The purpose of the hearing, according to the 

 chairman, was "* * * to ascertain whether legislation of a helpful nature 

 will be necessary, whether specific funding authorization will be use- 

 ful, or whether any other matter developed by the hearing requires the 

 support of the Congress." ^^ 



Much of the hearing was taken up by a detailed account by Willard 

 Bascom about the Cuss I drilling voyage. In concluding his account, 

 he made a number of points : 



The most important asset the United States has in this new technology is the 

 competence and unique knowledge possessed by the small team of men [who 

 carried out the deep water drilling experiment]. 



A great many problems remain to be solved before we can design a ship 

 capable of drilling to the Moho * * *. This means we must have an experimental 

 ship to try out ideas and develop equipment. [He went on: "To those who say 

 'Why not immediately build a ship to drill the Mohole?' I answer, 'We do not 

 know enough yet.' "] 



Simultaneously with some of this [development] work, we will begin the 

 design of the Mohole drilling ship and place on order the long leadtime equip- 

 ment. Within .5 years we can reach the Moho. 



[Finally, in a delicate allusion to the "race" he said : "If a modest sum of 

 money is provided, we can put the United States far ahead in the exploration 

 of the oceans."]^ 



In response to the questions that followed his presentation, Bascom 

 identified four sets of values of the Mohole project: (1) Geophysical 

 discoveries, (2) geological studies, (3) oceanographic engineering, 

 (4) drilling technology. He estimated that actual drilling to reach 

 the mantle could start in 3 years, and that the cost of doing the 

 complete job of reaching the Moho — assuming that a suitable Navy 

 hull would be available as the drilling platform — would be on the 

 order of $15 million, although he qualified this estimate as being very 

 time-dependent.^^ 



Paul S. Bauer, consultant to the subcommittee, asked Bascom: 

 "What does the project need to get the most done in the shortest 

 time?" Without directly answering the question, Bascom cited the 

 need for strengthened organizational arrangement, immediate fund- 

 ing, and authorization to proceed with the next phase of the project. 

 On the question of suitable organization, he concluded : 



21 Oceanography 1961 — Phase 2. Hearings, op. clt., p. 101. 



^ Ibid., pp. 104-105. 



M Ibid., pp. 105-106, 121, 122. 



