426 



NATIONAL OCEAN OGRAPHIC PROGRAM LEGISLATION 



The company solicited advice from a great many users of tlie ocean. The activ- 

 ity was talven seriously by industry and a great deal of competent work went 

 into the different parts of the study by specialists in ocean science, ocean engi- 

 neering, and ocean use. Since the whole report has not yet been made public the 

 total suggested budget is not known. The proposed budget for the fishery aspects 

 alone of this study is given in the following table (in millions of dollars) : 



(4) At the same time the Department of Defense caused to be made a similar 

 study by a highly competent committee from the academic ocean research and 

 development community under the same ground rules. This second group did not 

 limit itself to "science," however, but recommended a series of projects in what 

 could be called the normal research and development field, thus including applied 

 science, technology, and engineering. Without going into detail it may be said 

 that the total cost of this series of projects over a 2-year period would run a little 

 more than $2 billion. They are capable of being put into the same sort of cost- 

 benefit ratio formula as in (2) above. 



Thus there are now available in the Government four highly competent studies 

 m.ade by four independent groups of specialists as to the approximate size of 

 programs needed by the Federal Government to make a meaningful beginning on 

 the conquest of the ocean environment for use. These will contribute to the 

 peacetime economy of the United States and the programs have favorable cost- 

 benefit ratios. The four studies, budgetwise, are in the same general area. 



In the absence of greater publicly available data one can say that to be really 

 meaningful in the accomplishment of the strategic objective, which was the first 

 item considered in this report, a cost of $500 million per year over a 5-year period, 

 or a total of $2.5 billion for a 5-year period would be a reasonable estimate. 



It is noted that in the past couple of years there has grown up an amazing 

 amount of interest on the part of formerly land-oriented industries in the United 

 States in ocean-oriented activity. This includes a considerable number of the 

 lai'gest firms in the country as well as a welter of small, specialized firms. The 

 Marine Technological Society was organized by a group of these and Government 

 people a little more than a year ago. A meeting of MTS was held in Washington 

 in June of this year. Instead of the 600-700 attendance anticipated, nearly 1,500 

 paid attendees showed up. 



The cynical will say that the reason why such a large segment of U.S. industry 

 is getting so actively interested in ocean exploration, science, and development is 

 that it smells large Government contracts on the way. 



My reading of this situation is quite different. I think that industry planners 

 in general have thought that if the Federal Government was going to keep pid- 

 dling around with ocean science as it has been doing in recent years industry 

 would be in favor of this in a lipservice way, like being in favor of motherhood 

 and against sin. 



If, however, the Government is at last getting solidly interested in backing 

 ocean research and development in the larger sense, and if the Government is 

 actually prepared to move in a consequential manner to stimulate the use of the 

 ocean, and by doing so reduce the risks to the pioneers, then there is scope for big 

 and successful industrial enterprise on and in the ocean, for the engaging in which 

 they can justify the investment of important amounts of their shareholder's 

 capital. 



GREAT DREAMS AND EXPECTATIONS 



Man does not live by bread alone, the Book says. As a matter of fact when 

 the material welfare of a numerous people has come to the general level that it 

 has presently reached in U.S. society the drives to economic betterment slack off 

 some. This general euphoria stretches as well to the military field, in spite of 

 Vietnam and Asia, and our people are not afraid. The generality feels that we 

 can lick anybody for money, marbles, or chalk if we have to, and we don't want to 

 have to. 



