Scientists' Warning

Scientists did not like the May-Johnson bill's emphasis on secrecy. To them the bill seemed a reflection of the U.S. Army's attitude that the atom was primarily a weapon of war rather than a challenging frontier on the limits of knowledge, to be pushed back for the benefit of all men.

A parade of scientists who took exception to the May bill's security provisions passed before Congressional committees. Others made statements to the press. Columbia's Dr. Harold C. Urey discoverer of heavy hydrogen, favored a worldwide ban on the manufacture of atomic weapons. Dr. Herbert L. Anderson, who worked on the bomb, feared that the May-Johnson bill's security provision would frighten scientists away from all nuclear research. Famed Dr. Arthur Holly Compton had similar objections. The scientists' main worries were:

P: Scientific research is elusive and in tangible. Working always on the edge of the unknown, scientists cannot plan their campaigns far ahead. Often they wander off in pursuit of fascinating side issues which, to their own surprise, sometimes turn out to be rewarding. The plodding technicians who follow behind the van guard might not be hampered by strict control. But the sometimes-erratic geniuses, who work best unsupervised, would find their style cramped under a nine-man Government Board.

P: Atomic research is not a mere sub division of physics. On the contrary, it touches not only all of physics, but most other sciences as well--especially astronomy, mathematics and chemistry. The most imaginative, fiercely independent men in all these sciences would be mere employes of the Board.

P: Scientists hate secrecy. Their professional code compels them to tell the world about each new discovery. Besides, the greatest reward they ever get is the appre ciation of their colleagues. If they could not talk and write about their achieve ments, their lives would be barren indeed.

Few responsible scientists objected to the basic purpose of the May-Johnson bill. Virtually all of them agreed that atomic energy was a frightful force which might, in improper hands, destroy the human race. But they hoped that Congress would be careful. Said one: "Scientific research is like a porcelain egg. Clutch it too tightly, it shatters -- and you have nothing."

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