Science: How to Lose Scientists

Government jobs don't look very attractive these days to U.S. scientists. The widely publicized attack by the House Un-American Activities Committee on Dr. Edward U. Condon, director of the National Bureau of Standards (TIME, March 15), has helped scare other valuable scientists away. Last week the Atomic Scientists of Chicago, Inc. (all of whose members worked on the atom bomb project in wartime) offered some proof of how the rank & file of science feels about Government service.

The A.S.C. asked the National Opinion Research Center of the University of Denver to find out, by the most approved and careful methods, what its scientist members think about the whole question of "security," loyalty checks and Government service. According to the research center's report, most of them agree that some sort of "security clearance procedures" are necessary. But they believe that a scientist accused of disloyalty or "un-Americanism" should be given an opportunity to defend himself.

The treatment that Dr. Condon got from the Thomas Committee made nearly all atomic scientists hopping mad. They objected particularly to the Committee's habit of "trying" cases in the newspapers without giving the victim a chance to defend himself. Many wrote long, violent replies to the questionnaire, predicting that such irresponsible attacks would cause the Government to lose its' best scientific talent. Seventy-five percent of the scientists questioned stated that the Condon affair had made them more reluctant to go into Government service. It has made 12% of them "decide to decline any such offer."