Evening star., 1947-02-18
Atomic Energy Group
Subject to Overhaul
Statute Calls for Senate Review
by August l of Next Year
By David Laurence

Recently this correspondent wrote
that if Federal officials, including the
chairman of the Atomic Energy Com
mission, were to come up for reap
pointment and examination by the
United States Senate every year, there
would be less point in the controversy
that has arisen concerning the confir-
nation of David E. Lilienthal.
1t turns out that, actually, If the
Senate confirms Mr.. Lilienthal now,
there will be another opportunity in less
than 18 months to decide whether he
has made a good and faithful public
servant. The Atomic Energy Act specl-
f1es that the terms of all five members
shall expire on August /, 1e48. If all
are reappointed, the President must
then designate the terms of each men,
ber and the Senate will have another
chance to decide whether to approve.
Under the law, the President can specify
in August, 1948, one member to hold
Office for three years, another for four,
another for five, another for six and
another for seven years.
Other Four Members.
Whatever policy is followed by the
Atomic Energy Commission in the next
II months probably will be subject 10
close scrutiny by the other four mem
bers Of the commission besides Mr..
Lilienthal. OF these four members
three are classed as Republicans.
Sumner Pike is Republican from
Maine. Lewis Strauss, who was part
nsr in Kuhn, Loeb & Co., is Repub-
licar from the days of Herbert Hoover,
whom he at one time served as private
secretary. w. w. Waymack of Des
Moines. Iowa, wrote editorials for the
leading Republican paper in Iowa and
Is considered to be a Republican. The
fourth member, Robert Bacher, is a
physicist who might be classed as an
independent.
With three Republicans on the
Atomic Energy Commission, 1t doesn't
seem probable that there could be any
Democratic politics played by Mr. Lili-
enthal even If he were so disposed. As
for public ownership programs, it seems
certain that neither Mr.. Strauss nor
Mr.. Waymack would be on that side
of the fence, nor would Mr.. Pike. whose
record in the Securities and Exchange
Commission does not indicate any
tendencies of that kind.
Could the five members of the COM
mission, if all are confirmed, do any
thing in the next II months to jeopar-
dize the Nations safety through any
misguided policies on the atomic bomb?
Could Communists infiltrate and get
the bomb secret in the interim? These
are questions that might be asked out
Of fear such as is prevalent nowadays,
but it seems very doubtful whether the
policies set by any flve-member board
could go so far afield as to bring any
danger without some member of the
board going quietly to a member of
Congress or the President and telling
him of his fears. Congress could act
Immediately to checkmate such o
situation.
When Congress some years ago set
up commissions, it had in mind that
such bodies are really instruments of
the will of Congress rather than of the
executive. There have been instances
in which the late President Roosevelt
removed from commissions persons who
did not go along with his views, but
there also have been instances in which
Congress took cognizance of divisions
within boards and commissions, thus
fulfilling the main purpose of the
commission idea.
Controversy Laid to Fear.
Where the statute permits one-man
administration in a governmental
agency. there is often feal danger Of
abuse of power Where, however, there
are f1ve-member boards or commissions,
such danger is checked through the
appointive process and often the Senate
has refused to confirm for reappoint-
ment men who have failed to perform
their duties as members of Congress
have thought they should be performed
1t is seldom that the opportunity for
checking comes so soon. The fact that
the terms of all five members will ex-
pire on August l, 1948, means that the
Senate will have second look at all
the appointees. Also, If Congress
wishes to do so, it can amend the
statute so as to require the members
Of the Atomic Energy Commission to
come up for reappointment every two
years instead of after longer terms.
The original idea perhaps in fixing
two-year term was to test out the scope
Of the commissions work and to de-
termine just what the members would
do with this tremendous problem, and
then apply the check of confirmation,
If 1t be assumed that, in confirming
Mr.. Lilienthal, the Senate will be TAX
ing the chance for about II months on
the chairman, the Senate will have
four other members whose attitudes
are not subject of controversy to
exercise check. too, in that interim.
The whole controversy is the product
Of fear and suspicion in which the
opportunity of the commission to let
loose the atomic secret has doubtless
been exaggerated.