Documents / Hearing transcript
This is the printed record of a July 29, 1968 symposium on unidentified flying objects held by the Committee on Science and Astronautics of the U.S. House of Representatives, chaired by Rep. J. Edward Roush. The committee heard statements from six scientists: J. Allen Hynek, James E. McDonald, Carl Sagan, Robert L. Hall, James A. Harder and Robert M. L. Baker. It also printed papers from Donald Menzel, Stanton Friedman, Frank Salisbury and others. Hynek argued that puzzling UFO reports from competent witnesses deserve serious scientific study.
“Edwards Air Force Base”3 pages
98 Mr. Rousii. Suppose we discover there is life on Mars, in some form, wouldn't this almost cinch your case, and you could say there is extra- terrestrial life? Dr. SAGAN. Yes, sir; it certainly would, but not cinch our case about extraterrestrial intelligence. 'Conceivably, there might be a low form on Mars. If there is Martian life, it is of interest how low it is. If there is intelligence on Mars—but we don't know there is intelligence on Mars—then we don't have to grasp that evolution process. Mr. Rousx. I would like to finish this morning's session just by telling of a cartoon I saw which I think Dr. Hynek perhaps saw and enjoyed as much as I did. It showed a flying saucer hovering over the Earth, with little green men looking down, and one turned to the other and said, "Do you suppose it is swamp gas ?"[Laughter.] Dr. HYNEK. That is a good statement to close the session on. Mr. Rousn. We shall reconvene at 2 o'clock this afternoon. (Whereupon, at 12:15 p.m., the hearing was recessed to reconveneat 2 p.m.)
Hearing transcript, from the govinfo collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 256 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.