Evening star., 1948-09-16
Protesting Scientists
Smear Spy Probers,
Mcdowell Asserts
By Miriom Ottenbero

Uy mITtum OtteHDefQ
Charges by scientists that
smear tactics of the House Com
mittee on Un-American ActiW-
ties have made Government jobs
unattractive for scientists were
described by a committee mem
Der today as part of a planned
effort to discredit the committee.
Representative Mcdowell, Repub-
hcan, Of Pennsylvania declared that
the series Of statements by scientists,
resolutions Of protest and wires to
high officials are obviously part
Of plan"
Obviously" he added, president
Iruman's speech was inspired by
this plan" ..
He referred to Mr.. Truman's ad-
dress to the annual meeting Of the
American Association for the Ad-
vancement Of Science this week.
MIR. Truman charged that some
politicians" are endangering the
Nations safety by smear tactics
against scientists.
A similar charge was made at a
press conference yesterday by DR..
Harold C. Urey Of the University
Of Chicago, Nobel Prize winner and
one of the Nations foremost atomic
scientists.
Sees Years of Damage
Dr.. Urey declared it will take
many years to- repair the damage
done by the committee to the ma
tional security by making Govern
ment employment undesirable for
scientists.
The committee, DR.. Urey said, has
done little damage to the scientists
themselves, since universities and
private business are quick to hire
men "smeared" by the committee.
The Communist menace doubtless
Is real and serious, DR.. Urey said,
but he added that 1T can't be at
tackled by such naive, obvious
methods"
Cant we get some legal way to
make Congress pay some attention
to the Bill of Rights and the Consti-
tuition? The constitutional rights
of scientist are not as much safe
guarded as those of murderer" the |
physicist declared.
DR.. Urey uggested-quite seri-
ously, he said-that some individ-
uals are born with "a witch-hunting
gene, an inborn desire to persecute
people"
Never q Witness Himself.
The scientist himself has never
been before the committee.
Il am an employe of the Uni
versity of Chicago" he said. Il like
1t. They treat me like an American
citizen"
The committee, he said, aims its
activities to get the names Of its
members on the front page Of news
papers. The press, he declared,
would be doing "a very patriotic
service" If 1t put stories of the COM
mittees activities on the back pages
for few days.
Mr.. Mcdowell leveled his attack
at scientists who have been at
tacking the committee as the COM
mittee resumed its closed hearings
on atomic espionage. Several wit
nesses were scheduled to be heard
today.
Mr.. Mcdowell asserted that mot
q single scientist has left the Gov
ernment because he was afraid of
being smeared."
Wants to Have Names.
I'D like to know one who quit
because he was smeared," the legis-
lator added, challenging his scientist
critics to prove that any scientist
resigned because of the committee.
He pointed out that the names
of only two scientists have cropped
up in the committees current ac-
tivities. One of these, he said, was
DR.. Martin Kamen, who brought
his own name into it." and the
other was Dr. Edward U. Condor,
director of the National Bureau of
Standards.
"And DR.. Condor is still in the
Government" Mr.. Mcdowell added,
DR.. Condor has been described by
the committee as one of the weakest
links in this Nations atomic Sc
curity. DR.. Condor has asked for a
public he>ring. The committe has
scheduled the hearing for its next
series of open sessions, already
twice postponed.
In the case Of DR.. Kamen, the
committee let out testimony that an
atomic scientist was fired from the
University of California after being
overheard talking with a Soviet rep
resentative at San Francisco res
taurant. Sufficient hints were given
as to the identity of the scientist to
lead reporters to DR.. Kamen. The
scientist said he assumed the COM
mittee was referring to him. When
he came here to face the committee
he told reporters he was not a Com
munist and had never given any
secret information to Soviet repre-
+of