tional Health Division of The Rockefeller Foundation. The coopera-
tion of the Greek Government was generously available through-
out. ¹ The purpose was to see if the level of living in Crete could
be raised. It was found that there were any number of ways in which
this could be done. Two general methods of approach would be pos-
sible: by revolutionary moves initiated and carried out from the top
down; by evolutionary processes set in motion at the grass-roots,
geared to the real desires, capacities, and local needs of the people
themselves. The first method would be quicker, more spectacular, less
apt to stick, more likely to destroy important values caught in the
overriding process. The second would be harder, more demanding of
ingenuity and patience, probably much more enduring.

The Foundation conceived of the project as an experiment in fact-
finding. What should be known about any underdeveloped area before
moves toward its industrialization are made? How much of such
necessary information can be obtained?

There are several ways of finding out about a country. All official
reports may be read: reports by the country itself, reports by out-
siders--by United Nations agencies, by private organizations, by
governmental bodies of other nations. All these steps were taken in
launching the study of Crete. Then the country may be visited,
viewed at firsthand through conferences with officials and with vari-
ous private individuals who live on the spot. This too was done. On
a more professional basis, a series of interviews may be arranged
with specialists in various fields of interest and their views tabulated.
This also was carried through.

Valuable as these approaches are, however, they do not necessarily
furnish a realistic cross section of the life of the people whose level
of living is the prime concern of the inquiry. To get at basic data,
to discover what life is like at the grass-roots, requires some other
method. To meet this need a survey on a sampling basis was planned
--a scientifically selected house-to-house canvass carried out by spe-
cially trained Greek interviewers. The results were richly revealing,
and a method may have been set for scientific, factual exploration in
other underdeveloped areas in advance of industrial planning for
their futures.

Evolution to higher levels of living cannot be a speedy matter even
though the need is urgent. Urgency of action must be balanced by

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