Evening star., 1952-11-17
u. ). Probes Leaks
On H-Bonnb;; Success
In Explosion Hinted
CONTINUED From First Page.)

1llC pCdCC VI tIlc WOIiU auQ In lie
absence of effective and enforce
able arrangements for the control
of ornaments. the United States
Government must continue its
studies looking toward the devel-
opment Of these vast energies fol
the defense of the free world. AT
the same time, this Government
is pushing with wide and growing
success its studies directed toward
utilizing these energies for the
productive purposes Of mankind"
Stiff Penalties Involved.
Even before Mr.. Deans disclos-
ure Of the investigation, demands
were beginning to appear in con-
gressional quarters for an inquiry.
Senator Bricker, Republican of
Ohio, member Of the Joint Atomic
Energy Committee. said he wanted
to know if security had been vio-
lated.
Last night, Senator Bricker
added that he had known all along
that H-bomb research was in
cluded in the Eniwetok weapons
test. but said he was in no posi-
tion to know if an H-bomb was
exploded. He also contrasted the
secrecy surrounding current tests
with the open door policy of the
i946 Bikini atomic tests.
The Atomic Energy Act carries
the stiffest Of penalties for VIOLA
tions Of security-including ceath,
life imprisonment. 20 years i'm
prisonment or $4,000 fine or both.
But, like provisions of other
Federal law, it must be proved in
court that a violation was made
with intent to injure the United
States or with intent to secure an
advantage to any foreign nation. ="
Letters which have appeared so
far seem to be one of the ordinary
letter-to-home type, telling in an
awed and "gee-whiz" manner of
an amazing spectacle.
The danger could be that the
letters. if accurate, contain un-
intentional tid-bits of scientific
information of major value in
guessing how good the United
States newest and mightiest
weapon might be.
The Atomic Act also contains a
further specification that no per-
son shall be prosecuted unless
and until the Attorney General
of the United States has advised
the commission with respect to
such prosecution and no prosecu-
ton shall be commenced except
upon the express direction of the
Attorney General"
And the death penalty or life
imprisonment may be imposed
only on recommendation of a
jury.
The act says it shall be the
policy Of the commission to con-
troll the dissemination of re-
stricted data in such manner as
to assure the common defense and
security" Presumably it is under
this broad provision that the
task force regulations" men
toned by MIR. Dean, were set up.
Disciplinary action, not neces-
sarily involving prosecution, could
be taken under such regulations.
Whatever instructions were is
sued to the several thousand men
working at the Eniwetok proving
ground about keeping silence on
what they saw. the task force had
no postal censorship in force to
screen out references in letters
sent home.
Descriptions Indicate H-BOmb.
There was the possibility that
the letter writer's, unframed as
scientific observers, saw a stand
ard nuclear fission explosion
which, because they had seen no
others, gave an exaggerated i'm
preston.
But certain portions of letters
seemed to counter such possibility
If they were accurate, the dimen-
sions Of the explosion were vastly
greater than the most powerful
standard atomic weapon.
The explosion at Eniwetok
would have been 16 times more
powerful than the atomic bomb
dropped on the Japanese city of
Hiroshima. DR.. I. M. Levitt, direc-
tor of the Fels planetarium of
Franklin Institute at Philadel-
phia. estimated. He thought it
might have been a baby" hydro
gen bomb, containing about 80
pounds of critical material.
If a true. full-size hydrogen ex-
plosive device was detonated at
Eniwetok, the United States can
hope it is the worlds first and
that this country is ahead in
the weapons race with the Soviet
Union.
But because of the high official
secrecy surrounding the whole
matter. there can be no certainty
If that.