Evening star., 1954-04-13

development and production Of
atomic bombs.
In the autumn of 1942 Gen.
Groves assumed charge of the
Manhattan Engineer District. I
discussed with him the need for
an atomic bomb laboratory.
There had been some thought
of making this laboratory part
of Oak Ridge. For a time there
was support for making it a
military establishment in which
key personnel would be COM
missioned as officers; and in
preparation for this course I
once went to the Presidio to
take the initial steps toward OBJ
tanning a commission.
Civilian Status Decided On.
After a good deal Of discus
sion with the personnel who
would be needed at Los Alamos
and with Gen. Groves and his
advisers, it was decided that the
laboratory should, at least initi-
ally, be a civilian establishment
in a military post. While this
consideration was going on. I
had shown Gen. Groves Los
Alamos; and he almost imme-
diately took steps to acquire
the site.
In early 1943, I received q
letter signed by Gen. Groves and
DR.. Conant. appointing me d.
rector of the laboratory, and
outlining their conception of how
it was to be organized and ad-
ministered. The necessary con-
struction and assembling of the
needed facilities were begun. All
Of us worked in close collabora-
tion with the engineers of the
Manhattan District.
The site of Los Alamos was
selected in part, at least, because
it enabled those responsible to
balance the obvious need for Sc
curity with the equally impor-
tant need of free communication
among those engaged in the
work. Security, it was hoped,
would be achieved by removing
the laboratory to a remote area,
fenced and patrolled, where COM
munication with the outside was
extremely limited.
Community Was Tight.
Telephone calls were ,moni-
tored, mail was censored, and
personnel who left the area
something permitted only for the
cleareSt Of causes - knew that
their movements might be under
surveillance. On the other hand,
for those within the community,
full exposition and discussion
among those competent to use
the information was encouraged.
The last months of 1912 and
early 1943 had hardly hours
enough to get Los Alamos estab-
lished. The real problem had to
do With getting to Los Alamos
the men who would make q sue
cess of the undertaking. For
this we needed to understand as
clearly as we then could what
our technical program would be,
what men we would need, what
facilities, what organization,
what plan.
The program of recruitment
was massive. Even though we
then underestimated the ultimate
size of the laboratory, which was
to have almost 1000 members by
the spring of 1945, and even
though we did not at that time
see clearly some of the difficult
ties which were to bedevil and
threaten the enterprise, we knew
that it was a big. complex and
diverse job.
Even the initial plan of the
laboratory called for a start with
more than 100 highly qualified
and trained scientists, to say
nothing of the technicians, staff
and mechanics who would be re-
quired for their support, and of
the equipment that we would
have to beg and borrow since
theDe would be no time to build
1t from scratch. We had to re-
cruit at time when the coun-
try was fully engaged in war
and almost every competent
scientist was already involved in
the military effort.
Had Primary Responsibility.
The primary burden of this
fell on me. To recruit staff I
travelled all over the country
talking with people who had
been working on one or another
aspect Of the atomic energy en-
terprise. and people in radar
work, for example. and UNDER
water sound. telling them about
the job. the place that we were
going to. and enlisting their en-
thusiasm.
In order to bring responsible
scientists to Los Alamos, I had
to rely on their sense Of the in
terest, urgency and feasibility of
the Los Alamos mission. I had to
tell them enough of what the
job was, and give strong enough
assurance that 1t might be sue
cessfully accomplished in time
to affect the outcome Of the war,
to make it clear that they were
justified in leaving their other
work to come to this job.
The prospect of coming to Los
Alamos aroused great misgiv-
ingS. 1t was to be a military
post; men were asked to sign up
more or less for the duration;
restrictions on travel and on the
freedom of families to move
about we're to be severe, and no
one could be sure of the extent
to which the necessary tech
nical freedom of action could
actually be maintained by the
laboratory.
The notion Of disappearing