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grew, so that the National Research Council called a conference on 

 Pacific Scientific Problems in July 1943 to discuss the present and 

 future needs of Government and scholars on the Pacific region. The 

 conference included representatives of the Committee on Pacific In- 

 vestigations, the Oceania Committee, the Ethnogeographic Board, and 

 various Government agencies. The conference, after long delibera- 

 tion, adopted a motion requesting the Ethnogeographic Board "to or- 

 ganize, implement, and make available a topical survey of the present 

 state of scientific knowledge with respect to the various areas of the 

 Pacific region for immediate practical use and as a basis for future 

 scientific development in the study of the region." 



This was no small order. The members of the Board admitted the 

 importance of the project, but were careful to consider the limitations 

 of responsibility which they could assume. It was finally agreed that 

 the Board would act as a coordinating agency for the survey in the 

 initial period, provided that a suitable executive could be found. It as- 

 sumed no responsibility for publication, nor any financial obligation 

 beyond the immediate administrative expenses. 



The Board appointed a special committee on scientific research in 

 the Pacific Island area, and secured the services of Dr. Barnett to act 

 as the executive secretary. The first problem was to outline the scope 

 and contents of the survey. It has not yet been solved. Some wanted 

 a topical outline based on the earth, biological, and social sciences 

 with suitable subdivisions. Others stressed the integration of data 

 on cross-disciplinary lines. After several meetings, and numerous 

 tentative outlines, the committee agreed that a scientific guide book, 

 rather than an organized handbook, should be the first objective. 



The executive secretary reorganized the outline according to in- 

 structions, wrote some sample sections, and set out to look for 

 potential contributors. This was discouraging. Many of the best 

 men were either in the Pacific or so engaged in war work that they 

 had little time or interest. Others were frankly dubious about the 

 value of a "guide," if its usefulness were measured against the time 

 and energy necessary to produce it. On the other hand, everyone 

 realized that a satisfactory "handbook" required years of preparation, 

 considerable financial resources, and more extensive personnel than 

 was then available. The problems of publication could not be avoided. 

 Would it be one volume or one hundred ? Would all sections have to 

 be completed before any were published? Where was the money? 

 The Board suggested that finished sections might be published in the 

 scientific journals, and reprints obtained for final assemblage. 



The executive secretary kept in touch with such organizations as 



