Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-05-14
Cotton Defends Strauss

Berlin tension. it's open season
for political sniping and petty
feuding." said Senator Cotton.
For 10 long days Of bulb
flashing. hell-popping hearings.
Lewis Strauss has been before
the committee for confirma-
ton.
He has been a lusty fighter
for his convictions and has
stepped on many toes, but in
my book this man deserves well
Of his country. On the Atomic
Energy Commission he insisted
that the United States produce
the H-bomb ahead Of Russia,
and hung to it like a dog to a
bone against the opposition of
his fellow commissioners and
many scientists.
I'VE shudder to think of
using this dreadful weapon,
but most Of US Shudder, too, to
think where we would be If
Russia had gotten it first. It
seems strange indeed to hear
Senators who scream that we
have permitted the Soviets to
get the jump on us in guided
missiles. trying to tear this man
to shreds because he fought
bare-fisted to give us the H
bomb"
Defends Position
Mr.. Strauss told the COM
mittee yesterday that, IF /
urged that belief Gin the H
bomb when it was unpopular
and now do not regret it. III
cannot see that this disqualifies
me for the Office Of Secretary
of Commerce"
ut is an awful truth" Mr..
Strauss continued, that our
security does depend on wea-
pons of terrifying proportions,
and that Communist aggression
may be deferred only by our
possession Of such weapons.
The swallowing Of Lithu-
ania, Latvia, Estonia, Czecho-
slovakia. Poland. RoInania and
Hungary after the war, the
ruthless suppression Of free in
stincts in East Berlin. Hungary,
Poland and Tibet suggest that
our security must. for a little
longer, depend On strength
our strength "
IsOtOpe Shipment
Mr.. Strauss yesterday chal-
lenged a charge by Senator
Anderson that he was guilty of
ian unqualified falsehood"
when he testified earlier that
an iron isotope shipped to Nor
way in 1949 was to be used for
research to develop alloys for
jet engines.
To refute the Anderson
charge Mr.. Strauss produced
a cable sent to the State De-
partment from the American
Embassy in Oslo in the sum-
mer of 1949.
Mr.. Strauss said the cable had
been paraphrased for cryptic
graphic security, and reads in
part:
I'VE have contacted the d.
rector of the project referred to
in your cable.
4 Il
ut is desired to develop al
10y for jet or gas turbine use
at a temperature as high as
possible, i.e., particularly above
700 degrees centigrade If pos
sible. Work already started
and looks promising. -
Mr.. Strauss said this was
followed by another cable some
days later which stated, amy
premature assumption that the
alloys will be successful or can
be applied to rockets or other
military weapons is not pres
emily justified"
In other words" said Mr..
Strauss, "the first cable indi-
Gated the purpose, the second
cable indicated that such sue
cess was not to be presumed.
I ask you gentlemen if the de-
scription of my statement as
an unqualified falsehood' was
just"
Mr.. Strauss has insisted that
he favored shipment of isotopes
for medical purposes, but OPP
posed such shipments if they
would have any military value.
Other Developments
Other highlights of yester-
days session were:
l. James B. Carey. president
of the International Union of
Electrical, Radio and Machine
Workers, AFL-CIO, took the
stand to oppose the confirma-
tiol on the ground that Mr..
St.7,ss Is not temperamentally
qualified for the Cabinet post.
He charged the nominee has a
"Napoleonic complex"
2. Mr.. Strauss replied to a
long list of complaints made
against his service on the