OCEANOGRAPHY 73 



Admiral Pierce. Well, in our particular service, all of our officers 

 are graduate civil engineers and we are sending some of them for 

 brief courses in oceanography. They happen to be going to the Uni- 

 versity of Washington. 



I feel that a graduate civil engmeer is in a position to pick up any 

 of this type of work. 



Mr. Oliver. Could you use in your organization more personnel 

 in perhaps the form of technicians who would not be these doctors 

 and fellows and so forth in the higher echelons ? 



Admiral Pierce. Yes, we could; but the problem is to find them. 

 There do not seem to be too many boys today who are interested in 

 going to sea. 



Mr. Oliver. Would they be, if they had some sort of an incentive, 

 such as getting into this field of oceanographic technology ? 



Admiral Pierce. I think so, and we do need that type of person, 

 yes. 



Mr. Olfvt^r. Would an educational program along this line be con- 

 structive in the interest of oceanography ? 



Admiral Pierce. It sounds like an inservice program where you 

 take these boys from high school and train them in your laboratories 

 ships, or even in your central headquarters. 



Mr. Oliver. We had testimony yesterday that at Woods Hole there 

 were more applications for admissions to the summer course than they 

 could take care of. 



Admiral Pierce. The question that occurred to me at that time was 

 how man}^ of those boys do you get after they get out of school? 

 They would like to get summer employment, but how many of these 

 peo])le we retain after they graduate is another question. 



Mr. Oli\t:r. But it would be a constructive and salutary thing, 

 would it not, if we had the incentive for these young juniors and 

 seniors in high school, for example, so that they might enter the field 

 of oceanographic research if they had encouragement along that line ? 



Admiral Pierce. Yes, and we certainly could use them. 



Mr. Oliver. This perhaps would take some of the load off the more 

 highly capable people so far as evaluation is concerned. 



Admiral Pierce. That is right, sir. It would. 



Mr. Olr^r. I have one other question, Mr. Chairman, and that is 

 all I have. 



When your Bureau is asking for more funds do you find that, for 

 example, with the Secretary of the Department, your requests are 

 given all the consideration that you feel they should be given ? I do 

 not want to put you on the spot. Admiral, necessarily. I was wonder- 

 ing if the purpose of this legislation is not being perhaps down- 

 graded a bit, because I am trying to think of it in terms of the 

 mechanism that would put more emphasis on oceanographic needs. 



Admiral Pierce. Let me answer in this way, sir. Certainly the 

 interest that these congressional committees have shown most im- 

 portantly have increased the interest of our Department in ocean- 

 ography in our appropriations. Let me put it that way. 



Mr. 6li\-er. Tliank you. That is all. 



Mr. Miller. Mr. Flynn ? 



Mr. Flyxn. I have no questions. 



Mr. MiLiJ^R. Admiral, thank you very much for this part of your 

 statement. Now, will you go to the second section of it. 



