50 
Resolved, by The American Legion in National Convention assembled in Port- 
land, Oregon, August 24-26, 1965, That The American Legion opposes 1) the giv- 
ing to the United Nations title to or revenue from any income producing property, 
regardless of location but especially the off-shore oil deposits in the Gulf of 
Mexico; and 2) the authorizing of the United Nations to tax individual citizens 
of any nation, to place levies upon any member state for whatever services, to 
issue income-raising stamps, or to charge anyone or any member state fees of any 
nature for any form of international activity. 
NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN LEGION MEETING OF 
OcTOBER 18-19, 1967, INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA 
RESOLUTION NO. 22 
Commission: Foreign Relations. 
Subject: Oppose Vesting Title to Ocean Floor in United Nations. 
Whereas Resolution No. 414, adopted at the Portland National Convention 
(August 24-26, 1965), expressed the opposition of The American Legion to the 
giving to the United Nations any source of independent revenue, including the 
resources of the seabed or ocean floor ; and 
Whereas Malta, A UN member, has proposed to the current session of the 
General Assembly that jurisdiction and control of the ocean floor, and the finan- 
cial benefits derived from its exploitation, be placed in the United Nations; and 
Whereas stories have been circulated to the effect that the United States 
representatives will support such plan; and 
Whereas several members of the House of Representatives have introduced 
joint resolutions in opposition to vesting title to the ocean floor in the UN; and 
Whereas H.J. Res. 816 and similar bills would also memorialize the President 
of the United States to instruct our UN representatives to oppose any action at 
this time to vest control in the UN of the resources of the deep sea beyond the 
Continental Shelves of the United States; and 
Whereas hearings are now underway on these measures before the House Sub- 
committee on International Organizations and Movements: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolwed, by the National Executive Committee of The American Legion in 
regular meeting assembled in Indianapolis, Indiana, on October 18-19, 1967, That 
the American Legion reaffirms its position of opposition to the giving to the 
United Nations any properties or resources which would provide it with in- 
dependent revenue; and be it further 
Resolved, That the American Legion shall support the enactment of legisla- 
tion to express it to be the sense of the Congress that United States representa- 
tives to the United Nations should be instructed to take all steps possible to block 
any and all moves to place jurisdiction and control of the ocean floor in the United 
Nations. 
TESTIMONY BEFORE THE SENATE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE BY 
FRANCIS T. CHRISTY, Jr.* 
An economic approach to man’s growing interest in the mineral raw materials 
of the deep ocean floor may be of value to the current debate on who controls 
what—not with the idea that economic rationality will prevail, but with the 
suggestion that economic rationality is one goal by which alternative regimes 
can be evaluated. 
Several alternative regimes for governing mineral exploitation have been sug- 
gested. These include the division of the beds of the seas among the coastal 
nations;* the “flag nation” approach, under which nations guarantee claims 
made by their entrepreneurs;* the establishment of an “international registry 
*Research Associate, Resources for the Future, Inc.; B.A., Yale University, M.S., Ph. D. 
(Conservation), University of Michigan; author (with Anthony Scott), The Common 
Wealth in Ocean Fisheries (1965) ; member, Executive Committee, Law of the Sea Insti- 
tute. The views of the author do not necessarily represent those of the organizations with 
which he is affiliated. 
1 Seymour S. Bernfeld, ‘‘Developing the Resources of the Sea—Security of Investment”’, 
The International Lawyer, 67-76 (1967). 
?Northeutt Ely, “American Policy Options in the Development of Undersea Mineral 
Resources,” supra, pp. 000—000. 
