OCEANOGRAPHY 1961 — PHASE 3 281 



oceanographers, uniformly describing their cruises in terms of pure pleasure. 

 Even the hardships are cherished and savored. 



Needless to say, I wholeheartedly agree that research, to be of any value, must 

 be approached vpith precisely such a mental attitude. If research is allowed to 

 become a chore or routine, it ceases to be research and becomes mere labor. 



On the other hand, when surveying of tlie oceans is necessary, and by surveying 

 I mean the gathering of specific data in preselected areas, according to preset 

 standards, the research attitude is of no use whatsoever. Such a routine task 

 will be badly performed by research people and will, in turn, have a stultifying 

 effect on creative minds. 



Dr. Spilhaus, in return for your kind invitation to join a Woods Hole cruise 

 (an invitation which I hope to accept soon) , I invite you to visit an oceanographic 

 survey party of Western Geophysical Co. I am sure that such a visit will demon- 

 strate to you the essential difference between the mentality, attitude, and be- 

 havior of an oceanographic surveyor and an oceanographer. You will see highly 

 skilled technicians, each operating in a very narrow sphere, intricately coordi- 

 nated, with elBcient, reliable, and highly automated machinery gathering data at 

 Tery high rates of speed. The operation is the same hour after hour, day after 

 day, week after week, month after month. 



These are the kind of men who will have to survey the oceans of the world. 

 The oceanographer must precede the surveyor as a scout, must guide the surveyor 

 in the pursuit of meaningful data, and must interpret, understand, and use the 

 surveyox*'s data after it is gathered. 



These are the concepts which I had hoped to put across before the committee. 

 In part, other members of the geophysical industry who were present to testify 

 were to have helped build this picture. Unfortunately, scheduling did not permit 

 the entire picture to be presented as planned. 



By a copy of this letter, I am informing Mr. Paul S. Bauer, consultant to the 

 Subcommittee on Oceanography, of my views on this apparent misunderstanding. 

 Perhaps something can be done to amplify the record. 

 Yours very truly, 



Carl H. Savit. 



National Academy of Sciences, 



National Reseaech Council, 

 Committee on Oceanography, 

 Washington, D.C., July 21, 1961. 

 Hon. George P. Miller, 

 Old House Office Building, Washington, D.O. 



Dear Congressman Miller: At my request, Sumner Pike, Milner Schaefer, 

 and Roger Revelle of the National Academy of Sciences' Committee on Ocea- 

 nography, reviewed and prepared comments on H.R. 4276. I wish their findings 

 to be incorporated in my testimony before your Subcommittee on Oceanography 

 June 22. 



In general, they indorse the concept of a National Oceanographic Council as 

 a means of continuing the long-range development of a coordinated national 

 cceanoffraphic program. 



Specifically, they recommend that : 



(i) The proposed Council should have an Advisory Committee made up of 

 leading nongovernmental marine scientists. The members of this Committee 

 shoukf be selected from a slate of nominations prepared by the National Acad- 

 emy of Sciences. 



(2) The members of the Council should either be Presidential appointees at 

 the time of their appointment to the Council or their appointment to the Council 

 should be submitted by the President to the Senate for confirmation. There 

 should be one member from each of the Federal Departments and independent 

 agencies concerned with oceanography. 



C3> In addition to those Council members identified in H.R. 4267. the Coun- 

 cil should have a member from the Department of Health, Education, and 

 Welfare, and the Department of State. These Departments have a substantial 

 stake in a coordinated national oceanographic program. The Public Health 

 Service is actively studying pollution problems in coastal waters and it is 

 supporting research in marine biology. The Office of Education in HEW is 

 concerned with the education and training of oceanographers. The State De- 

 partment has cognizance of various international fisheries commissions which 



