150 OCEANOGRAPHY 



Mr. DiNGELL. The original National Science Foundation Act pro- 

 vided, as I recall, that grants of equipment, and so forth, to private 

 institutions would remain the property of the United States. Am I 

 correct in my understanding of that? 



Dr. Waterman. Not quite, sir. We have authority to give them 

 to the institution if the Government has no need. 



Mr. DixGELL. As of when do you have that authority ? When that 

 bill was passed during the last Congress ? 



Dr. Waterman. This was in the original act, as Mr. Hoff, our 

 General Counsel, can confirm. We have always had this authority. 



Mr. DiNGELL. You have always had that authority? 



Mr. HoFF. Yes, we have always had that authority, we feel. 



Mr. DiNGELL. Do you propose to give these ships to private institu- 

 tions or do you intend to avail them to or lease them to private insti- 

 tutions ? 



Dr. Waterman. Since they have not been built, we have not had that 

 arise explicitly as yet. 



Dr. Robertson. The grant we made this year to the Woods Hole 

 Oceanographic Institution for $3 million contemplates that they will 

 have the ship designed and built and that they will have title to the 

 ship after it is built. 



Mr. DiNGELL. As a taxpayer, do you not think that is a rather ex- 

 traordinary procedure, to give title to a $3.5 million ship ? 



Dr. Robertson. I think it is very similar to our giving money to an 

 institution to build a nuclear accelerator, for example. We regard 

 this ship as a scientific tool that can best be designed and constructed 

 and operated by one of our leading scientific institutions in the same 

 way that another institution might design, build and utilize a nuclear 

 accelerator. 



We feel it is simpler and probably cheaper in the long run for them 

 to own and to be responsible for this ship. We specified that in the 

 event of a national emergency title could revert to the Government. 



In constructing the ship we have specified a number of check ])oints 

 where approval of the National Science Foundation is required. In 

 carrying out that portion we have assembled a committee, an advisory 

 committee, consisting of members named by the Department of the 

 Interior, the Maritime Commission, and the Navy, to help us in ap- 

 proving the design and inspecting the construction of the ship. 



Dr. Waterman. Mr. Chairman, it seems to me a very reasonable 

 position and one of great strength in the support of oceanographic 

 work to have ships provided and used both by the Government and by 

 private institutions. Within the Government, of course, the Na\y's 

 vessels would be Government-owned and Government-operated, and 

 similarly with other vessels which woidd be under Government 

 agency authority. 



This provides for the Government's interest in this. The Govern- 

 ment's interests are always tinged with the idea of some application. 

 That is important and should be maintained. On the other hand, 

 when these are used by private institutions, there is a great advantage 

 in having them for pure basic research, such as these private centers do. 

 This makes them more flexible in what they do, more comprehensive in 

 what they find. I believe it is to the country's interest to see to it that 

 private agencies have these facilities available, too, particularly where 

 we have such very strong centers as we really have at Woods Hole and 



