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tion, include standards of accuracy and common symbolization and termino
logy and will go far toward establishing a greater understanding among the
Nations by making available a graphic tool interpretable by all.
What you have accomplished up to now constitutes one of the most out
standing and valuable achievements of the cooperative NATO defense pro
gram. The manner in which you performed a task which initially appeared
impossible deserves the highest commendation. I know your Governments
appreciate your efforts and I can assure you my Government does the same.
You have done well and I am confident that you will continue to do well in
those portions of the program which still remain.
I wish also to commend our Latin American friends for their outstanding
accomplishments and progress in the photogrammetric and mapping fields. As
you know, there has been a collaborative mapping effort existing between the
United States and 17 Latin American countries since 1946. The U.S. portion of
this collaborative effort is supported by the Corps of Engineers with the Inter-
American Geodetic Survey as the action agency. One of the prime objectives
of this program is the standardization of methods, equipment and specifications
for mapping and charting. This program has resulted in the efficient and eco
nomical utilization of the cartographic capabilities of each country concerned.
The successful completion of the program will place each of the collaborating
nations in a better position to accomplish its cartographic requirements. In the
meantime, the program is engendering international good will and fostering
hemispheric solidarity.
I do not intend to dwell too long on the importance of maps to the Armed
Forces. Such a group as this is well aware of the fact that maps are one of the
most valuable tools of modern warfare. It is sufficient to say that maps are
indispensable in all phases of military planning, training and operations — all
the way from the Joint Chiefs of Staff down thru every echelon to the indivi
dual soldier fighting in the field.
To my mind, the problem of our defense covers much more than the
strictly military aspects. Our defense effort is closely associated with the strength
of our home econom’cs and the efficient utilization of our resources. These, in
turn, are considerably influenced by the availability of adequate mapping.
Today, no major structure, industrial installation, transportation or com
munication route is constructed or developed without first preparing a detailed
survey. And further, with few exceptions, these surveys are prepared today thru
the use of photogrammetric methods.
The impact of the science of photogrammetry has been felt in almost every
project in which there is need of a topographic map. It is self-evident that such
primarily civilian undertakings as flood control and navigation projects, water
resources and electric power developments, road and railroad construction, are
of extreme importance to the military prowess of a nation. By strengthening its
civilian economy, improving its productive capacity and making its areas more
readily accessible, any country enhances its potential ability to defend itself.
We, in the United States, have just begun to utilise photogrammetry in the
last twenty years, whereas a number of the European countries have success
fully produced maps thru this technique for many years. We have sorely felt
our late beginning in the past, and it is only in the years since World War II
that we have begun to show significant progress in this field. The great Euro-
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