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Mr. Moore. That is correct.
Mr. Preyer, Was any effort made to get donors to do the conversion ?
Mr. MooRE. In the past ?
Mr. Preyer. Well, under your present policy.
Mr. MooRE. Yes; we have. In each case, when we have attempted to accession non-Government materials, we have discussed the possibility of having the donor contribute money for the transfer of that material.
Mr. Preyer. Why was that not done at the time the Universal newsreel was accepted? Why was it not transferred to safety film before you stored it, as nitrate film is so dangerous ?
Mr. Moore. At the time the Universal material was transferred to us — we negotiated with Universal for approximately 2 to 3 years to get the transfer — we had sufficient storage facilities for nitrate film at the Suitland vaults and we felt that we could actually accession that material in its original form and gradually convert it, as funds were available.
We did not have sufficient funds to convert it in advance.
Mr. Preyer. So ; it was a question of funding ?
Dr. Rhoads. Mr. Chairman, I think, to keep this in perspective, we should remember that in 1970 we had been occupying those film vaults which were built and designed specifically for the storage of nitrate film for over 20 years, and had had no untoward experiences. Maybe we were lucky, but there was nothing in our experience to indicate that this was not an acceptable way of proceeding in terms of the hazards that we all knew were inherent in the situation.
Mr. Preyer. All right.
There is one other thing I would like to ask about the current policy, and I think it is a very good one now. In view of hindsight, it is easy to say: "We should have done it then," as you point out. It is good policy to transfer it to safety film before it is stored.
Dr. Rhoads quoted from the law that you are only supposed to accept those aspects of the film which have some public interest. Presumably, you have to screen the film to do it.
I understand that, of the Universal newsreels, approximately 60 percent of that film would be kept. Is that right ?
Dr. Ehoads. That is right.
Mr. Preyer. You would discard the rest of it.
Dr. Rhoads. Yes.
Mr. Preyer. Is it not wise to do that screening process at the time that you accept it, so you have 40 percent less film to store ?
Dr. Rhoads. I cannot disagree with that, Mr. Chairman, given what has happened.
The film, as I understand it, was in a location near New York City, and it would have meant tliat we would have had to send a number of employees up there for an extended period of time. We would have incurred transportation and per diem costs over an extended period of time. We felt that we could do it more efficiently and less expensively if we transferred the whole mass down here to the Washington area and did it here.
Mr. Ingram. Let us clarify. Dr. Rhoads. You had the film in your possession at the Suitland facility for approximately 5 years, as I understand it, before you began to do any determination as to how much of that material is of archival value.