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.
“Nevers”43 pages
17 Each of you are experts in one or more disciplines. I am sure there are a number of things on your shopping lists for additional funding. I would be interested to know how this effort that is proposed here might fit into your lists of priorities. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. ROUSH. Thank you, Mr. Rumsfeld. Mr. Miller. Chairman MILLER. Doctor, you mentioned a number of things—pop- ulation studies at least. A great many of these are carried out not byGovernment directly, but in the National Science Foundation or through the National Academy of Sciences or scientific bodies them- selves. Do you think, I merely offer this as a suggestion, perhaps the sci- entific community try to encourage NSF or the scientific societies dealing in this field to take the initiative in doing this, rather than to wait for Government to take the initiative? Dr. HYNEK. I know, of course, most of the bodies you have men- tioned are funded by the Government anyway. Most or a great part of our scientific research today has to be so funded. Private sources are certainly not sufficient. And, therefore, I think it is rather aca- demic, really, to worry too much about who does it. It is more a ques-tion of who is going to pay for it. We have a rather interesting situation here, as Congressman Rums- feld has already pointed out. This is one of those strange situations in which the cart is sort of before the horse. Generally this results in the scientific laboratories and the results of the studies of scientists finally come to the public attention, but here we have the other situa- tion. It is the public pressure, the public wants to know actually, more than the scientists, at the moment. So you are facing public pressures, even, definitely more than scientific pressures at the moment. Chairman MILLER. Unfortunately in some of our problems, for ex- ample the NASA problems, where the public is indifferent, the matter of waste disposal, pollution, health, and these things. They are quiteindifferent to them, and it takes a lot of effort to get them interested in them sometimes. The committee has studied this on several occasions, but we have generally had a group of the scientific community behind us to givepressure, to bring pressure, to get some of these things done. Dr. HYNEK. I think we will see, sir, in this testimony today that you will find a corps of scientists stand ready to do this. In fact, as I mentioned in my testimony, I have private information from a verylarge number of scientists who are interested. Chairman MILLER. I think this one of the values of the symposium. Mr.RousH. Are there other questions or comments? (No response.) Our next participant is Dr. James E. McDonald. Dr. McDonald is presently with the University of Arizona. He is a senior physicist, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, the University of Arizona, and has had a long and distinguished career as a scientist. Dr. McDonald, we are pleased to have you as one of our participants You may proceed.
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