Evening star., 1950-02-10
Hysteria Over Bombs
Due TO Widely Spread
Misinformafion
0fficiuI Sources Debunk
Ideas of HeIpIessness
Held by General Public
Bv David laurence

Bp D0Cfd Laurence
Today might well be called de
bunk Day" For, amid the hys-
terra about hydrogen bombs and
atomic warfare and spies, a va
riety of official sources debunked
some widely spread pieces of mis-
information.
First, the Atomic Energy Com
mission in an official document
distributed to American States and
cities, declared that damage from
an atomic bomb burst would be
severe within a half mile radius,
but that aboVe-ground protection
was practical beyond that radius.
Also, protection is afforded a few
feet underground even in the CEN
ter Of the bombed area. Yet last
autumn many a critic lambasted
Comdr. Tatom of the Navy when
he testified that he would be will
ing to stand at one end of the air.
port-in the open where debris
wouldn't fall-a mile away from
an atomic bomb burst and he
would not be hurt.
B0gey Minimized.
Second, Col. James P. Cooney,
Atomic Energy Commission officer
and radiology consultant to the
Surgeon General of the Army, said
that rescue workers could enter
an area where an atomic bomb
had been dropped just as soon as
the radioactive clouds lifted. He
stated that while the radiation
hazard was not to be underesti-
mated, people had been frightened
to the extent that they thought
1t dangerous to go in and rescue
the wounded. DR.. R. E. Lapp, an
atomic bomb expert, several weeks
ago revealed that he had entered
the Bikini area the same day the
bomb had been dropped, and he.
too, minimized the radiation
bogey.,
Third, DR.. Vannevar Bush, top
scientist who headed up for the
Government the atomic bomb
project in wartime, told the Sen
ate Armed Services Committee
that successful development of
the hydrogen bomb did not have
any more than a $3.50 chance
OF success because it was proble-
NAUTICAL whether a container able
to hold the weapon or an air.
plane able to transport it could
be devised.
Fourth. DR.. Bush expressed
doubts also as to the value of the
hydrogen bomb secrets" known
by DR.. Fuchs, British scientist.
now held on spy charges in Lon
don. DR.. Bush said that informa-
ton available to Fuchs was of a
primary" nature when the hy-
drogen project was in its infant
stages.
All this adds up to the impress
sion that many of the statements
In the last few days which have
scared the daylights out of Con-
gress and perhaps the people
generally are not as positive as
they first appeared to be.
This doesn't by any means re-
duce the necessity for care and
scrutiny of all persons who may
have access to secrets. nor does it
justify any reduction in appro-
prlations by Congress seeking to
protect us against espionage. But
it does indicate how easily some
members of Congress can be
swept off their feet by misinfor-
nation.
Most Important Point.
The most important point that
DR.. Bush made to the Senate
committee probably will be
CLOSED over because its impliea-
tions are not readily understood.
He expressed concern over the
lack of unified weapons planning
in this country. DR.. James B..
Conant, president of Harvard and
another high-level scientist, made
the same criticism the other day.
remarking that political decisions
in some instances are being
made with reference to weapons.
DR.. Bush mentioned pressures
related to demands for tanks and
planes and urged a division of
the defense dollar on a scientific
basis. This means that the Weap-
ons Evaluation Board in the De-
partment of Defense is not yet
functioning and that perhaps OBJ
stacles have been put in the way
OF its proper operation on a sci
entific basis.
Last but not least, DR.. Bush
pointed out that the only defense
against the atom bomb-whether
1t is hydrogen or any other kind
is against those who. carry or
manufacture or transport it. This
simple observation means that
while radar must detect the on
coming planes of an enemy, all
warfare must be concentrated on
demolishing the enemy's plans at
his bases before they can get
away or in intercepting enemy
planes. There is as yet no defense
against the bomb itself.
Maybe the most comforting
statements of the day are the
comment by DR.. Bush that he is
confident American scientists are
way ahead of the Russians and
dispatches from British sources
expressing doubt that the Rus
slams have any long-range planes
capable of carrying and detonat-
ing atomic bombs.
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