80 OCEANOGRAPHY 



proud of the Coast and Geodetic Survey and the Coast Guard as 

 part of its jurisdiction. 



I meant to tell ^Vdmiral Pierce this. 



I will make the general statement now that I am very happy to 

 see you. We will be calling on you later for some favors but that 

 is something that you and I will discuss. 



They are going to have a graduation at the Academy and I think 

 the Admiral with the proper amount of twisting of his right arm 

 will manage to get some of us up there. 



Mr. Oliver. On the basis of being an old Coast Guard man of 

 very few years' experience, I join with you in welcoming Admiral 

 Hirshfield here. 



STATEMENT OF REAR ADM. JAMES A. HIRSHFIELD, ACTING COM- 

 MANDANT, U.S. COAST GUARD; ACCOMPANIED BY LT. COMDR. 

 JOHN E. MURRAY, OCEANOGRAPHER, U.S. COAST GUARD 



Admiral Hirshfield. Thank you very mucli, Mr. Chairman. I 

 feel that our feeling is well put by you. 



Mr. Miller. Have you a statement, Admiral? 



Admiral Hirshfield. No, sir. I have no statement, Mr. Chairman. 



Our position on the two bills that we were asked to comment upon 

 has been forwarded to the committee and I had sort of gathered I 

 would come up and try to answer any questions which might be put 

 to me. 



Mr. INIiLLER. We will turn you over to our chief interrogator. 



Mr. Bauer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



Admiral, for many years you have been conducting the ice survey 

 in the Arctic and Greenland waters as well as running the weather 

 ships on some of the oceans of the world, those that are responsible 

 to our country. 



Would you tell the committee just what you have done in the way 

 of oceanography with respect to those areas wherever you have had 

 those ships? 



Achniral Hirshfield. Mr. Bauer, may I correct just one part of 

 that? We have had the International Ice Patrol for many, many 

 years. 



Mr. Bauer. That is correct. 



Admiral Hirshfield. I am sui-e that it is the area to which you 

 refer, 



Mr. Bauer. That is correct, sir. 



Admiral Hirshfield. We have conducted oceanographic surveys in 

 the Grand Banks and the area in general which generates icebergs. 

 We have had on occasion ships go up off the coast of Greenland, 



These efforts were primarily in the area of ocean currents ; in other 

 words, to try to estimate the drifts of the bergs as they headed for 

 the steamer lanes and also to estimate the number, the possible or 

 probable number of icebergs which would come down and those which 

 might menace the shipping lanes. 



In Alaska, of course, years ago we did do some things for other 

 departments. About 3 years ago, two of our ships circumnavigated 

 the North American Continent, as you may recall, and those vessels 

 were under a Navy task force but did some surveying in the waters 

 on the top of the North American Continent. 



