Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1953-12-30
Dr.. Condor Charges
Lack Of Fair Play by
Some in Congress
By the Assoeicted Press

BY the Asseeiosed Press
BOSTON. Dec. 30.-Dr. Ed
ward U. Condor. president of
the American Association for
the Advancement of Science,
says there are elements in Con-
gress who have shown that they
have little respect for American
principles of freedom and fair
play"
DR.. Condor q few years ago
was labeled by the House IN
American Activities Committee
as being "the weakest link" in
the chain of atomic security.
He made the remark yester-
day in criticizing a type of ex-
Communist who. he said. leaps
from slavish adherence to the
Communist dogma to the equally
violent and passionately slavish
adherence to authoritarian anti
communism"
1T is these people," the one
time head of the Bureau of
Standards said, who are doing
so much harm in America today
as they eagerly play the game
of the elements in Congress who
have shown that they have little
respect for American principles
of freedom and fair play"
Hits Political Misbehavior."
Apparently referring to con-
gresslonal Interrogation of SCI
entists and other professional
people on loyalty matters, DR..
Condor at another point criti-
clZed the kind of political mis-
behavior which is being these
days overdignifled by calling it
anti-intellectualism, and which
really represents Nazi-type pres
sures against independent think
ing and towards conformity to
authoritarian doctrines"
DR.. Condor, now research di-
rector for the Corning IN. "
Glass Works, spoke at a lunch
con marking the award Of West
inghouse prizes for excellence in
science writing during 1858.
Asserting that a Critical ques-
tioning attitude" typif1ed science
at its best, DR.. Condor said all
people have a duty to dissent"
and to utilize their Critical fac
ulties" with regard to ideas and
conclusions of all types-or else
they have not discharged their
responsibilities of democratic
citizenship.
He said that. in this connec-
ton it is instructive to consider
young Americans who have for
a time been in some degree as
ISOLATED with the Communists"
"Sign Of Inquiring Mind"
"These are some," he said,
"who showed an interest in the
mid-30s, and I think it is a
good sign of a good inquiring
mind that they did so.
II respect them for it, more
than some of those who never
had a lively enough spirit of in
quiry to do so.
"Then they soon became ac-
quainted with the rigid authori-
tartan boundaries of it's doctrine
and pushed it away from them
selves as a thing of no value, and
I respect them for this, too.
DR.. Condor said the critical
attitude is ofen sadly lacking
in the politicians approach to
social problems"
1T is, I am convinced, the
lack Of this attitude in handling
political problems which more
than anything retards progress
in this field" he said.
DR.. Condor spoke just before
awarding Of prizes of $1,000
each to Nathan Haseltine, science
reporter for the Washington
Post, and to Eric Hodgins, an
editor of Fortune Magazine. as
winners for 1853 in a science
writing competition established
by the Westinghouse Educa-
tional Foundation and the Ma
tional Association of Science
Writers and administered by the
American Association for the
Advancement of Science.
Mr.. Haseltine was honored for
a series Of articles describing
the contributions of prisoner
volunteers to the advancement
Of research on a number of
major diseases, including ma
laria. Mr.. Hodgins was named
winner in the magazin" field for
an article in his magazine en-
titled, Power From the Sun"