212 OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES 



I do not know whether my good friend and ex officio member of 

 the committee, Mr. Tollefson, has anything to add to what I have 

 said. We would be very happy to hear from him. 



Mr. ToLLEFSOx. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. 



I had nothing particularly in mind to say except that after six 

 terms in Congress, one of the things I have learned is how little I know. 



I am glad to know that there are those agencies of Government that 

 do know things and are seeking to find them out. 



I might sa}^ that this is my first trip out to the David Taylor 

 Model Basin area. I had no idea there was such an establishment here 

 as I have seen thus far. That is not surprising. 



Yesterday, Mr. Chairman, I had a meeting with Senator Magnuson 

 and members of his committee in room P-54, in the Capitol, and I 

 had to have a guide lead me there because I did not know where it was. 



I am looking forward to the testimony today and look forward to 

 seeing as much of your establishment as you have planned for us 

 to see. 



Mr. Miller. Thank you. 



Admiral Mumma, I understand that you are to be our first witness 

 today. Would you care to take over ? 



STATEMENT OF REAR ADM. ALBERT G. MUMMA, USN, CHIEF, 

 BUREAU OF SHIPS, DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY 



Admiral Mumma. If I may defer a moment before testifying in 

 the official fashion, I would like to, on behalf of the Bureau of Ships 

 and the Navy Department, welcome the committee and its members 

 and the guests of the committee here to this Bureau of Ships establish- 

 ment. We are exceedingly proud of this establishment and we feel 

 very honored that you have seen fit to hold your hearing here because 

 I have had tlie privilege myself of appearing before the Merchant 

 Marine and Fisheries Committee in many locations but this is the 

 first time at this location. I feel it is the type of inquisitve searching 

 for knowledge that has made this committee such a fine committee 

 over the years in finding out what is good for the Government in 

 this field, and I think the legislation that has resulted has been most 

 enlightened, certainly, from the Navy's point of view, Mr. Chairman. 



I, therefore, thank you for the kind remarks you made about me 

 personally but I would like to return them with interest because of 

 my association over the last 4 years with members of the Merchant 

 Marine and Fisheries Committee. 



This will be my first and, I think, last appearance before the com- 

 mittee this year, and I would like very much to say how much I have 

 appreciated and enjoyed the association. 



I would also like to say just a little about the history of this estab- 

 lishment. I know that Captain Wright is going to give you a com- 

 plet(5 (ill-ill bill, in view of the fact that 1 spent alwut 7 yeai"s of my 

 technical career in this establishment and its predecessor, I feel that I 

 would not be doing justice to some of our predecessors in this field 

 if we did not just say a few words about it. 



One of them is, of course, the genius who stai-ted the whole 

 business, David Watson Taylor, who Wiis then a leutenant, had 

 just come from postgraduate education in Europe, and in 1898 was 



