OCEANOGRAPHY 89 



Mr. Clotjd. Well, this is a difficult question to respond to because 

 one always gets wound up in this business of scientific freedom. I 

 do not think that the scientists of this country would stand still for 

 a program whereby they were regimented and ordered about on the 

 scale that the Soviet scientists are. This is one of the disadvantages 

 of a democracy as far as attaining a military objective or a crash 

 program is concerned. 



Mr. Olr^er. I do not have that in mind, Doctor. 



T\niat I had in mind was that, for example, you are saying here that 

 statF increases would be necessary for more coring activities and I 

 assume that you really feel they should be increased. 



Mr. Cloud. That is right, and I had some experience in recruiting 

 for this sort of thing over a period of 10 years in an administrative 

 job, out of which I now happily am. To get the kind of people that 

 we need to do this high level type of work is a very slow process. 

 You must have your finger on the universities that are producing the 

 personnel that are needed in this work, watch their students, have an 

 opportunity to see what they can do and eventually hire them. It 

 lakes a long period of training to prepare a man for this type of 

 Avork and recruitment is a very slow proposition. 



If we should suddenly have as small a sum as $200,000 to go out 

 and recruit for this work, we would have a hard time spending that 

 sum wisely this year for new scientific personnel only, although we 

 ■could easily and effectively spend much larger sums for equipment 

 and facilities in anticipation of increased staffing. 



I think one of our biggest problems in recruitment has been the 

 lack of assurance of funds looking ahead to a future fiscal year 

 Avhereby we could be in the market for the best people and offer 

 them jobs when they graduate from school this year or next year 

 because of the way in which we operate and on a year to year budget 

 with only the assurances of tradition to give us the flexibility we 

 need in making employment offers. 



Mr. Oliver. Have we any programs in effect now that would en- 

 <:'Ourage people in either the later years of high school or in colleges 

 to engage in this sort of a profession? 



Mr. Clottd. We do this individually. 



Mr. Oli\^r. But you have no funded program which would give 

 us the result that you are speaking of ? 



Mr. Cloud. Yes, we have a program. We have a staff geologist on 

 the Geological Survey whose sole job is to keep in touch witli promis- 

 ing students in the fields of science relating to geolog}', and he goes 

 around to the annual meetings of the various societies, attends these 

 meetings, and sets up an office where they interview prospective em- 

 ployees and discuss their qualifications and job opportunities on the 

 Survey; but, of course, there never have been enough job opportuni- 

 ties on the Survey except in the immediate postwar crash program. 

 'i Mr. Olia-er. JSIr. Chairman, I have just one other question. 

 ' 'Does Geological Survey engage at all in the so-called Mohole 

 project ? 



Mr. Cloud. A Geological Survey man. Dr. Harry Ladd, is the mo- 

 tive force behind this ]3roject. 



Mr. Oliat:r. This is being financed by private funds ? 



