Evening star., 1955-06-26
By MOSBY GRANT

By MOSBY GRANT
Last year, Dr.. Ralph e. Lapp
travelled some $4,000 miles by car
and an additional $4,000 miles by
plane lecturing the American peo-
pie IN the unpleasant atomic facts
Of Me-which led one newsmaga-
xtne TO call him a kind Of "ther-
monuclear Paul Revere" This out
burst of dedicated energy comes as
no surprise to friends Of the young
scientist. One Of his associates says.
IN Jest, the only puzzling thing
about this grand tour-carried on
while DR.. Lapp was engaged in a
full program Of writing, editing
and consulting for industry-is that
be did not insist on walking the
entire distance.
Ralph Is the walkingest man I
have ever known" the colleague re-
marked. walking is when Ralph
says he does his best thinking, and
what he's thinking these days is
matter Of life and death for mil
lions Of people"
The Importance Of DR.. Lapps
walking. talking and thinking Is
demonstrated each time the Ma
tion's press mentions the word
"fallout." that sinister term de-
scribing the rain of radioactivity
which follows the explosion of a
nuclear bomb. Friends and critics
alike concede that this 38-year- -old
nuclear physicist has done more
than any other man to push fallout
into the consciousness Of the Amer
lean people.
The burden Of DR.. Lapp's mes
sage is not simply the terror Of the
bomb. though he agrees with the
young sailor, present at the tests
at Bikini, who wrote his parents he
had looked into hell. The most
consistent theme of his writing and
talking is his feeling that the tragic
fact Of the day is the American
people are stumbling into the
atomic age, not knowing the con-
sequences Of the nuclear power un-
leashed ostensibly in their behalf.
Beyond the people-at-large, he
claims. their chosen leaders-very
often those charged with protect
ing the Nation from atomic at
tack-must operate in a blindness
born Of ignorance imposed on them
In the name Of security. He points
out there can be no question of
secrecy involved. The Japanese,
British. Dutch - and presumably
the Russians-had full information
available on fallout long before the
American people were aware Of 1t.
isn't 1t ironical," DR.. Lapp said
IN an interview recently, that the
American people, the first to
achieve the superbomb, should be
the last to know its effect2"
Young Old Timer
While DR.. Lapp's concept of what
the American people should know,
and some Of his criticisms of the
atomic program, have been chal-
lenged BY various Government Of
ficials, no voice has been raised to
deny his competence In atomic
matters. Young as he Is, DR.. Lapp
oan, and does, describe himself as
one Of the "oldtimers" in atom
bomb research. His association
dates back to the days before World
War II, when as graduate student
at the University of Michigan, he
worked under. the direction Of the
late Prof. A. J. Dempster, Canadian
born discoverer Of U-235, the
isotope Of uranium which has made
nuclear f1ssion practicable.
II was in 1943, while continuing
his research in cosmic radiology as
q graduate student Of the Univer-
sity Of Chicago, that he literally
stumbled into the now-famous Man
haitian Project. DR.. Lapp freely
admits it was one Of the few times
In his life he did not know where
he was going.
II was using a part Of Stagg Sta
dium for my research" the scien-
tist recalls working under the d.
rection Of DR.. Arthur Compton. I
had to lug heavy ionization cham
ber up long flights of steps, and I
was looking for short cut on the
way down. I just wandered into a
room where there were o bunch Of
fellows like myself. wearing white
lab jackets. and some men ma
Ginning graphite blocks. Hum I
said to myself. Very interesting
But I had no idea I was seeing the
first steps toward the first reactor
pile"
No one bothered the young stu
dent until he reached q guarded
door. Fellow just told me I
couldn't leave, and wanted to know
how In the world I had gotten in
In the first place. It took DR..
Compton to get me out. AS a mat
ter of fact" DR.. Lapp added. II
sometimes think they let me stay
in the project because 1t was just
simpler"
Swift Rise
At Q time when young men
aplsnty were making rneteoric ca
reers under the impetus Of war, DR..
IApp was something OF Q standout.
Hv le4z he was assistant laboratory
d1receor and Q division director: 1915
saw HIM h charge of the Chicago