324 OCEANOGRAPHY 1961 — PHASE 3 



uni-\nersitt of washington, 



Department op Botany, 

 Seattle, Wash., March 11, 1961. 

 Hepresentative Geosge P. Millee, 



Chairman, Subcommittee on Oceanograpy, House Offlce Building, 

 Washington, D.G. 



Dear Representative Miller : Thank you for the opportunity to comment on 

 your recently introduced till H.R. 4276. 



As a marine Lotanist I am very much aware of the great deficiencies in 

 marine studies at tlie prcocr t time and am encouraged to see that action is being 

 taken to stimulate and provide support for further activity in this field. 



I find, however, in the bill presented there is very little mention of the role to 

 be played by the universities. The Smithsonian Institution, I feel, should not be 

 burdened with the task of making grants for taxonomic studies when an existing 

 governmental agency. National Science Foundation, has a special section ex- 

 perienced in this field. 



I take strongest issue with the expressed intent to have the Smithsonian 

 Institution establish a program for the recruitment and training of taxonomists. 

 Also the limiting of taxonomic efforts to fishes and marine invertebrates ignores 

 the plants which contribute well over three-fourths of the worlds total photo- 

 synthetic effort. The Smithsonian is not a training institution ; the training of 

 scientists should be done within the university system. 



These comments, although presented in a way suggestive of criticism, are of- 

 fered with the hope that they can be constructively used. I feel that the bill, 

 even if unamended, would be a very good thing indeed. 

 Yours sincerely, 



Michael Neushul, Ph. D. 



Stanford University, 

 Stanford, Calif., March 20, 1961. 

 :Bon. George P. Miller, 

 Chairman, Subcommittee on Oceanography, 

 House Office Building, Washington, B.C. 



Dear Congressman Mille2j : Thank you very much for the copy of House of 

 Representatives bill No. 4276 pertaining to the support of the study of oceanog- 

 raphy and related subjects under the auspices of the U.S. Congress. It is my 

 understanding that this bill, called Oceanographic Act of 1961, is companion 

 bill to one introduced into the Senate and which also is aimed at improving the 

 situation with regard to support for oceanographic studies. 



I am particularly interested in the phase of this work which wiU involve 

 identification of marine organisms, both the vertebrates and inverterbrates. I 

 believe that this bill and its company in the Senate should do much to im- 

 prove the situation with regard to our knowledge of marine resources, both 

 those which are renewable and those which can be completely exploited and 

 disappear. 



I hope, however, that placing the prime responsibility for encouarging work 

 in the systematics of marine organisms under the control of the Smithsonian 

 Instituion will not hamper the work that may well be carried on at other insti- 

 tions. I understand that the other agencies and universities in the United States 

 who may be working on oceanographic subjects can work directly with and 

 under the sponsorship of the Smithsonian Institution and still be within the 

 framework of this bill. I hope that this will not just add another step in 

 the administrative machinery which can slow up the active work that this bill 

 is designed to promote. 



Again, please let me thank you and the members of your committee for the 

 support that you are giving to oceanographic study and the position of the United 

 States in that field. 



Very sincerely, 



Ira L. Wiggins, 

 Director, Natural History Museum. 



Mr. DiNGELL, The committee will adjourn, subject to the call of 

 the Chair, for receipt of further data and for further hearings, hear- 

 ing the National Science Foundation. 



(Whereupon, at 12 o'clock noon, the subcommittee adjourned, sub- 

 ject to the call of the Chair.) 



