OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES 21 



This picture is not complete. There is much study going on. 

 There is no doubt that a full-scale trial of the kind you suggest would 

 be very useful. It would give us much information It has not 

 been organized on a scale to carry out in practice. 



Mr. DoRN. Wliy not? 



Mr. Reichelderfer. Cost. 



Mr. DoRN. Well, there is an old saying about "nothing ventured 

 nothing gained." There does not seem here to be anything ventured. 



Mr. Oliver was bringing out quite pointedly that it might be a 

 question of money, but unless the money was asked for, unless the 

 vision came from you folks, Congress cannot work on that vision. 



Do you not think that perhaps if jou think so much would be 

 gained by doing this that you should ask Congress for the money? 

 Maybe we would deny it. That is Congress prerogative, but if you 

 feel that it would be a good thing, is not the fault yours in not asking 

 for it? 



Mr. Reichelderfer. Well, we have asked for sufficient money 

 to conduct seeding experiments. We have not asked for money for 

 the bonfire plan that I mentioned because this certainly is one of the 

 more remote as to practicability and it gives less promise than some 

 of the other methods. 



Congress has been very generous to us in much of this research, but 

 we have asked for more money to advance hurricane and storm 

 research than we have been given so far. 



Of course, we try to plan these things to take, first, the steps that 

 give promise of yielding the greatest benefits, the greatest results and 

 additions to our knowledge. 



Mr. Miller. Will the gentleman yield? 



Mr. DoRN. Yes. 



Mr. Miller. Doctor, it is just as in many other phases of science, 

 many other experimental works being carried on today w^ith respect 

 to missiles and satellites that you are talking about. You can go 

 only so fast in the field of science. You might have an idea but you have 

 to accumulate data on a good solid ground. Is that not part of this? 

 We cannot just jump at any one thing and be justified in going out 

 and spending a lot of money to find that this is not it at all, whereas 

 sooner of later we may stumble upon something that is the real answer. 



Mr. Reichelderfer. Yes, Mr. Chairman, I certainly agree with 

 you. I would beg your indulgence on a bit of special pleading by 

 saying that I think, on the whole, our request in meteorology have 

 been relatively modest, relatively factual. 



Mr. Miller. I tliink they are, too. I think that this is a field 

 that is comparatively new. The development of the airplane gave 

 it a great impetus, and a great lot of stress was laid on it in the last 

 50 years because of that; is that true? 



Mr. Reichelderfer. Yes, this is true. 



Mr. Miller. We are just really accumulating data now. I thmk 

 we have to go faster. I think, basically, some of the things that you 

 touched on are very important. I was very interested in another 

 committee the other day when Admiral Burke was present. We were 

 talking about weather, talking about satellites, and the effect of the 

 ocean on weather. 



He immediately picked it up and give us quite a lecture on the 

 changing of ocean currents and even its effect upon the biology of the 



