Ill 



Chapter IV. 



CaOPEHATION PI OCSANOOFAPHIC Fi^GlilARCH TO BE EXPECT- 

 FJ> E^OM FEDERAL GOVEFIIMENT AGENCIES IN 

 AMERICA, A^'^D FROM STATE FISHERIES 

 IS, WITH SUM^TARY OF THEIR 

 OCEANOGRAPHIC ACTIVITIES 



I. INTRODUCTION 



Sever".] government burenux In Americr-, prosecute oce^nogr.'aphlc 

 investigations as r p-^rt of their regvi^^r duties, ns rlescrihed in 

 f. previous ci-aptor. Fro'n ti^ne to tirne in the past, hrond schemes 

 of oceanic exnloration h^vo heen undertnkon to "bo carried out eith- 

 er hT some one government bureau, or by several in cooperation. As 

 the most notable example of thaso, in America, we may cite the ex- 

 plorations of t^-e U. S. Coast -nd Geodetic Survey steamer PLAKE off 

 the oast cor. st of the United St.^'tcs and in the West Indian Carib- 

 bean region from 1877 to 1R80. A more recent example is the explor- 

 ation of the oceanic triangle between Ches.^peake Bay, Bermuda •"'nd 

 the Bahamas, candied out in 1914 by the Survey on the BACHE in coop- 

 eration with the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries. But all these instit- 

 utions must devote f-'eir energies prin-^rily, and in ^nost cases the 

 whole of their .appropriations, to the special field foi which thoy 

 "/ore pri-ri-'.rily ostablisi-'ed, and for which Congress or Parliament 

 supports them. 



There is also '^- natural tendency to concentr.r' te their efforts 

 in the aro'^s of particular- rrtional importance. F\irthermorc scient- 

 ific institiitions supported by public funds arc, for t'' .j most p^rt, 

 organized for t' o pr: atical applications of scientific research. 

 And w'lile increasing intero;"'t on the p^rt of t'''e public makus it 

 llkelv th'-'t government agencies will be given more sT:ipport for pure 

 research in the future, t^^e demands for funds to sup "^ort investiga- 

 tions diroctlv economic in "".im .'^re now and incron singly so insist- 

 ent thr-t Legislatures are not likely for ye'^rs to come to lend ear 

 to ple.^s for marine investigations in "puro science" on any bro."d 

 sc?. Ic. 



For t^'ose ro.-i^sons it is not to bo expected thnt ■" ny of the ser- 

 vices of f-e Federal government, whether o^ the United States or 

 of Canada, either sep-'r-^ telr or jointl"", will be in " position much 

 to ex'O^nd their oce'^nop:raphic progr.^ms , at least for m.^ny "■^.,3ars, 

 without outside stimulus or encouragement of some kind. 



Thus, tl'O proposed N^.val Oceanographic Expedition Planned at 

 the Conference on Ocennography hold at the U. S. N'^^vy Dop'-rtment 

 in the sum^aor of 1924, failed of fruition because it demanded a 

 large grant from Congress which was not forthcoming, rnd which, in 

 fact, there w"s no reason to expect would bu forthcoming. 



■"Vithout " c'-'.^need attitude on the p-rt of t^o Congror^s of the 

 United St'^tes, or t>^e r.^rli'~me?'its of Cf^nadr' or of Newf oundl.'^nd to- 

 'w^rd such scientific invustipations ns bear only remotely on ocono- 



