Evening star., 1949-12-06


from end to end" Mr.. Jordan said
Two Inquiries Pressed
Into Uranium Shipment
By Miriom Gutenberg
Two full-scale Congressional in.
vestigations of the shipment O
atomic bomb materials to Russi,
during the war developed today il
the wake of broadcast charge.
that Henry A. Wallace "overruled'
atomic project officials to cleal
the way for the shipments. Thi.
Mr.. Wallace denied.
Chairman Mcmahon of thu
Joint Committee on Atomic En-.
ergy announced he would fly here
today from Norwalk, Conn, tt
confer with the committee staff
on its investigation of reports
that uranium shipments went tc
Russia in 1943.
The House Committee on Un-
American Activities, keeping one
jump ahead of the other commit
tee, invited 1t. Gen. Leslie
Groves, wartime head of the
atomic project, to tell the COM
mittee tomorrow what he knows
about:
l. A charge by Radio Commen-
tator Fulton Lewis, jr., that Mr..
Wallace. while Vice President and
chairman of the Board of Eco
nomic Warfare, ordered atomic
materials shipped to Russia over
Gen. Groves protests. MIR. Wal
lace promptly labeled the Lewis
charge "the sheerest fabrication. u
2. Testimony by Former Air
Force Mai. George Racey Jordan
that the late Harry Hopkins
President Roosevelt's close ad-
wiser. told him to expedite, for the
Russians, a shipment of what he
believes was uranium.
Export License Indicated.
8. A State Department report
that wartime records indicate foul
export licenses were granted in
1943 for the shipment of atomic
materials to Russia.
Senator Mcmahon said he had
discussed the reported shipments
with committee members he hac
been able to reach and they
agreed with him that it was nec-
essary to develop all of the facts.
Mr.. Jordan disclosed late yes
terday that. after his appearance
before the House group, he talked
with staff members of the Atomic
Energy Committee who wanted te
know if he would be available
to appear before that body.
Three Scientists Discount Reports
Meanwhile, three University OF
Chicago atomic scientists dis
counted reports Of uranium ship
ments to Russia.
DR.. Harold Urey, nuclear physi-
cist who helped make the first
atomic bomb, described the urani-
um listed in the State Depart.
ment report as stable compounds
of virtually no interest interna-
tionally for explosive purpose.
during 1943."
The weights allowed by the ex.
port licenses. he added, were in.
significant in relation to tn.
amount needed to produce bomb
Il think we had to keep a tricklt
of all those chemicals flowing
during that period" he said. II
we had shut them off entirely
we would have told the worle
they had some new value which
several years earlier they hat
not"
DR.. Thorfin r. Hogness, director
OF the university's Institute O
Radio Biophysics, said all th'
materials listed by the State De-
partment were common labora'
tory chemicals before the war ant
the Russians could have gotter
the same compounds elsewhere.
Mrs. Roosevelt Defends Hopkins
DR.. Samuel K. Allison, a ke!
atomic scientist. commented tn,
amounts repeatedly sent to Russis
wouldn't even get an atomi,
energy program started"
In Pittsburgh a former mem
ber of the Un-American Activitie'
Committee today said Mr.. Wallac,
was the "chief figure" identified
during committee hearings a yea
ago with arranging atomic ship
ments to Russia.
Former Representative join
Mcdowell, Republican, of Penn
sylvania made the statement, HI
said, "in view of the recent broad
cast of Fulton Lewis, jr."
Mr.. Mcdowell added he coult
not recall the name of Harr,
Hopkins being mentioned at an!
committee hearings.
In another development, Mrs
Eleanor Roosevelt came to- tn,
defense of Mr.. Hopkins today
Calling Mr.. Jordan's charge
against Mr.. Hopkins Outrageous,
Mrs. Roosevelt said:
II cannot imagine Mr.. Hopkin
trying to hurt his country whel
he literally killed himself for ii
'"' I can believe. however. tina
Mr.. Hopkins exchanged certain
Information with Russia. as the.
were doing with us, but certainl,