Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-06-30


to whom one Is subject" This
faithfulneSS Is Q matter Of OBJ
legation; it is q duty owed. The
root Of the obligation and duty
is the lawfulneSs Of the govern
ment, nationally recognized and
freely accepted by the citizens.
The American citizen recog.
nizes that his Government, for
all its imperfections, is q Govern.
ment under law, of law, by law;
therefore he is loyal to it. Fur
thermore, he recognizes that his
Government, because it is law
full, has the right and the
responsibility to protect itself
against the action of those who
would Subvert it. The co-opera-
tive effort of the citizen with
the rightful action of American
Government in its discharge of
this primary responsibility also
belongs to the very substance of
loyalty. This is the
crucial principle in the present
case. -.
Communist Problem.
The fact of the Communist
conspiracy has put to American
Government and to the American
people a special problem. 1t is
the problem of protecting the
national security, internal and
external, against the inSidiouS
attack of its Communist enemy.
On the domestic front this prob
lem has been met by the erec-
ton of a system of laws and
executive orders designed to
protect the lawful Government
of the United States against the
hidden machinery of subversion.
The American citizen in pri-
vate life, the man who is not
engaged in governmental serv-
ice, is not bound by the require
ments of the security system.
However. those American citi-
zens who have the privilege Of
participating in the operations
of government. especially in SEN
sitive agencies, are necessarily
subject to this special system Of
law. Consequently, their faith
fulnesS to the lawful Government
of the United States. that is to
say their loyalty. must be judged
by the standard of tehir obedi-
ence to security regulations. DR..
Oppenheimer was subject to the
security system which applies
to those engaged in the atomic
energy program. The measure Of
his obedience to the require
ments of this system is the de-
ciSive measure of his loyalty to
his lawful Government. No lesser
test will settle the question o.
his loyalty.
In order to clarity this issue Of
the meaning of loyalty. the fol-
lowing considerations are neces-
Sary. First. the atomic energy
program is absolutely vital to
the survival of the Nation.
Therefore the security regula-
tions which surround it are in
tentionally severe. No violations
can be countenanced. Moreover.
the necessity for exact fidelity
to these regulations increases as
an individual operates in more
and more sensitive and secret
areas of the program. Where
responsibility is highest. Fidelity
should be most perfect. :.
No Thought Control.
This system of law is not, and
must not be allowed to become.
a form of thought control. It
the freedom of associa.
ton of the governmental EN-.
ploye who is subject to it.
It restricts his movements
and activities. 1t restricts
his freedom of utterance in
matters of security import. not
in other matters. 1t restricts his
freedom of personal and family
life. 1t makes special demands on
his character, moral virtue, and
spirit of sacrifice. But no part OF
the security system imposes any
restrictions on his mind. No law
or executive order inhibitS the
freedom of the mind to search
for the truth in all the great
issues that today confront the
political and moral intelligence
of America. In particular, no Se-
curity regulations set any limits
to the free-ranging scientific in
telligence in its search for the
truths Of nature and for the
techniques of power over nature.
If they were. to do so, the result
would be disastrous; for the
freedom of science is more than
ever essential to the freedom Of
the American people. -.
When all these distinctions
and qualifications have been
made. the fact remains that the
existence of the security regula-
tons which surround the atomic
energy program puts to those
who participate in the program Q
stern test of loyalty.
DR.. Oppenheimer failed the
test. The record of his actions
reveals a frequent and deliberate
of those security regu.
lationS which restrict a mans as
Sociations. He was engaged in q
highly delicate area of security:
within this area he occupied q
most sensitive position. The re-
quirement that a man in this
position should relinquish the
right to the complete freedom of
association that would be his in
other circumstances is altogether
a reasonable and necessary re-
luirement. The exact observance
Of this requirement is in all cases
to the integrity of the
security system. It was particu.
arly essential in the case of DR..
Oppenheimer. Y.