47. Szilard to Compton (MED NDN-55430).
48. Compton to Nichols, July 24, 1945 (MED). For all versions of the petition, see National Archives, Manhattan Engineer District, Record Group 77, Harrison-Bundy Files, Box 153, Folder 76.
49. Groves directive (MED 5E).
50. Fletcher Knebel to Szilard, October 25, 1961 (LSP). Knebel and Bailey, Look, August 13, 1960, pp. 19–23. Szilard “Reminiscences,” p. 132, n57.
51. FBI Secret Report, p. 007 (LSP). Creutz to the author, October 22, 1986. George Weil interview, April 7, 1983.
52. Harry S Truman, Year of Decisions (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1955), p. 390ff.
53. FBI “Secret Report” (LSP).
54. By year’s end, more than 130,000 had died, and latent effects claimed another 70,000.
55. Sayen, pp. 151 and 316, from an interview with Helen Dukas, November 9, 1977. Lapp, “The Einstein Letter That Started It All,” The New York Times Magazine, August 2, 1964, p. 54. Clark, 1972, p. 708.
56. Groves, pp. 333–36; Farm Hall transcripts (MED RG 77, Box 163).
57. Transcript for “The Mike Wallace Interview,” February 27, 1961 (LSP 40/22).
58. Leigh Fenly, “The Agony of the Bomb, and Ecstasy of Life with Leo Szilard,” San Diego Union, November 19, 1978, pp. D-l and D-8.
59. (Copy in LSP, original in EWP.) Ironically, a War Department certificate dated August 6 and signed by Stimson soon came to Szilard. It read: “This is to Certify that Leo Szilard University of Chicago has participated in work essential to the production of the Atomic Bomb, thereby contributing to the successful conclusion of World War II. This certificate is awarded in appreciation of effective service”(EWP).
60. Fenly, “The Agony . . .” p. D-8.
61. Robert M. Hutchins, oral-history interview, November 21, 1967. Columbia Oral History Research Office, p. 81. Szilard to Hutchins, August 8, 1945 (LSP).
62. Szilard’s May 22, 1956, dictation, transcript, p. 26 (LSP 107).
63. On August 13, Szilard drafted another letter to the White House urging President Truman to halt further atomic bombing (LSP).
64. Hartshorne to the author, January 10, 1986. Hartshorne interview, April 10, 1986. Szilard’s May 22, 1956, dictation, p. 26 (LSP 107).
65. Langsdorf 1983 Questionnaire to L. Badesh, IGCC #1, p. 36. Martyl interview (Weiss and Patton), Leo Szilard Biography Project.
66. For details on Szilard’s efforts to release the petition, see Capt. James S. Murray to Szilard, August 27 and 28, 1945; Szilard to the editors of Science, August 18, 1945; Szilard to Hutchins, August 28, 1945 (LSP). Szilard, “Reminiscences,” p. 133. Files on the petition are in LSP 40/15, 73/15, 73/16, and 89/6.
In rejecting Szilard’s request, the army ruled that “[E]very paragraph . . . either contains some information or implies ‘inside’ information . . . which implies that internal dissention [sic] and fundamental differences in point of view disrupted the development and fruition of the District’s work—an implication which you as well as I know is not founded on sober fact and which, if released at this time, might well cause ‘injury to the interest or prestige of the nation or governmental activity.’ “ Murray to Szilard, August 27, 1945. For Szilard’s response to this ruling, see Szilard to Hutchins, August 28, 1945 (LSP and MED 201 Szilard, Leo).
67. Szilard to Hutchins, August 29, 1945 (LSP). “Reminiscences,” p. 133, n60.
68. FBI “Secret Report,” p. 12 (LSP).
69. “Memorandum,” First Version, Rough Draft, August 14, 1945, with September 13 and 17 revisions (LSP). See also Lapp, p. 115.
70. FBI “Secret Report,” pp. 13, 53, and 241 (LSP). Hartshorne to the author, January 10, 1986.
71. FBI report, December 23, 1946, p. 246 (LSP).
72. See, for example, papers prepared for “Round Table: Hiroshima and the End of World War II.” The Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, Seventeenth Annual Conference, June 19, 1991, Washington, D.C.
73. David Dietz, “Era of Atomic Energy: Man’s Control of Weather Seen Possible in Future,” New York World Telegram (Scripps-Howard), August 17, 1945. (GSS No. 1, p. 48).
CHAPTER 19
1. AKS/MIT, p. 89. This is a paraphrase from the Chicago Tribune, September 2, 1945.
2. AKS/MIT, pp. 89–91.
3. AKS/MIT, p. 91, and BAS 33/41.
4. Historian Alice K. Smith cites Szilard’s memo as the only evidence that the atomic scientists were concerned with domestic control of the atom; their dominant issue at the time was international control. Here Szilard anticipated the struggle ahead by his intense ratiocination with concrete details. AKS/MIT, p. 92.
5. McMahon proposal, September 6, 1945. Franck proposal made September 9, 1945.
6. Hewlett and Anderson, p. 423.
7. Stimson to Truman, September 11, 1945; Congressional Quarterly Service, p. 242.
8. Papers of the Atomic Scientists of Chicago (BAS). (RMH 5/9–13).
9. Hutchins to Groves, September 17, 1945. The Smyth report’s Chap. XIII, paragraph 8, reads: “These questions are not technical questions; they are political and social questions, and the answers given to them may affect mankind for generations. . . . In a free country like ours, such questions should be debated by the people and decisions must be made by the people through their representatives. This is one reason for the release of this report” (RMH 5/9–13, LSP).
10. See Glenn T. Seaborg notes and article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, September 1985, pp. 31–33; and AKS/MIT, p. 94.
11. Benton to Szilard, September 20 and October 12, 1945 (LSP).
12. Remarks at Atomic Energy Control Conference, September 1945 (LSP 66/16).
13. AKS/MIT, p. 93. FBI report, December 23, 1946 (LSP).
14. Hewlett and Anderson, pp. 413ff. The Senate adopted the resolution on September 28, 1945.
15. “Round Table,” September 30, 1945. This was Szilard’s first opportunity to state his views on the bomb to a national audience.
16. In a 1955 television interview, Szilard dates this Princeton meeting as “shortly after the bomb was dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” but his itinerary (as plotted by the FBI) shows him in Buffalo in late August and in New York in late September. Unless Szilard made a separate, unrecorded visit to Princeton in August, it is likely the meeting occurred as he was traveling to or from the New York “Round Table” broadcast during the last week of September. See interview transcript in AEP and in Sayen, p. 151.
17. “Reminiscences,” p. 135. Szilard dictation, May 22, 1956 (LSP 107).
18. Congressional Quarterly Service, p. 242.
19. The bill numbers assigned were H.R. 4280 and S. 1463. Hewlett and Anderson, pp. 428ff. See also “Jurisdiction Row Again Blocks Atomic Energy Measure in Senate,” The New York Times, October 5, 1945.
20. AKS/MIT, p. 137. The Nation, December 22, 1945, pp. 718–19. See also Szilard’s May 22, 1956, dictation (LSP 107).
21. “Reminiscences,” p. 135.
22. December 23, 1946, FBI report, p. 14 (LSP). AKS/MIT, p. 138.
23. “Reminiscences,” pp. 136–37. See also Szilard’s May 22, 1956, dictation, p. 30 (LSP 107).
24. AKS/MIT, p. 139. Washington Post, October 11, 1945, p. 6.
25. Anderson to Higinbotham, October 11, 1945 (copy in EWP).
26. FBI report, pp. 35–36 (LSP). Final outline in Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, March 15, 1946, last page.
27. John A. Simpson interview, March 17, 1987. Hewlett and Anderson, p. 487.
28. Herbert Anderson interview, October 6, 1986.
29. John A. Simpson interview, March 17, 1987.
30. Hewlett and Anderson, p. 446.
31. Elizabeth Donahue, PM, October 17, 1945. “400 Experts . . .” The New York Times, October 14, 1945.
32. Bernard T. Feld interview, January 13, 1987.
33. Charles D. Coryell, oral-history interview, pp. 314–18, Columbia Oral History Research Office.
34. Howard
J. Lewis to the author, December 30, 1985.
35. Hewlett and Anderson, pp. 440–41.
36. “Reminiscences,” pp. 138–39. AKS/MIT, p. 138.
37. AKS/MIT, pp. 157–58. The New York Times, (U.P.) October 18, 1945.
38. Herbert Anderson interview, October 6, 1986.
39. US Congress, House, Atomic Energy, Hearings before the Committee on Military Affairs, House of Representatives, 79th Congress, 1st Session, on H.R. 4280, October 9 and 18, 1945 pp. 71–96. AKS/MIT, pp. 158–59. Telegram (LSP 71/7).
40. Photograph in Hewlett and Anderson, p. 449.
41. Stephen White, “Federal Control of Atomic Energy,” New York Herald Tribune, October 23, 1945. Although most derogatory remarks were edited from the hearing transcript, they were reported at the time by journalists.
42. Hearings, pp. 898–901.
43. Ibid., pp. 913 and 920.
44. Ibid., p. 926.
45. Ibid. Stephen White, New York Herald Tribune, October 23, 1945.
46. AKS/MIT, p. 164.
47. Szilard dictation, May 22, 1956, p. 32 (LSP 107).
48. William S. White, The New York Times, October 19, 1945. Newsweek, October 29, 1945, p. 9. Szilard dictation, May 22, 1956 (LSP 107).
49. The New York Times, October 21, 1945.
50. The New York Times, October 23, 1945. Robert E. Nichols, New York Herald Tribune, October 31, 1945.
51. Raymond J. Blair, New York Herald Tribune, November 6, 1945.
52. (LSP 71/7). PM, November 9, 1945. Raymond J. Blair, The New York Herald Tribune, November 6, 1945. PM, New York Herald Tribune, and New York Post, November 9, 1945. Congressional Record, November 14, 1945, pp. A4877–78. W. H. [sic] Laurence, The New York Times, November 9, 1945.
53. Newsweek, December 3, 1945, p. 45.
54. William Higinbotham interview, June 5, 1984.
55. AKS/MIT, pp. 214–15.
56. The New York Times, November 16, 1945. Hewlett and Anderson, pp. 461–66.
57. Szilard to Farrington Daniels, November 17, 1945 (LSP 7/5).
58. Miller interview with Alice K. Smith, February 10, 1960.
59. The New York Times, November 20 and 21, 1945.
60. New York Post, November 24, 1945.
61. Anthony Leviero, The New York Times, November 28, 1945.
62. The New York Times, November 29 and 30, 1945.
63. Hewlett and Anderson, p. 451. Program in GSS #4, p. 73. In the Waldorf ballroom that night Szilard attended as a guest of honor, along with Manhattan Project chemist Harrison Brown, Condon, Fermi, von Neumann, Oppenheimer, Rabi, Urey, and physicists John Dunning of Columbia and John A. Wheeler of Princeton. Among the officials and guests were several people who shared Szilard’s political views and would work with him in the future, including Leo M. Cherne, Norman Cousins, Marshall Field, Jr., James G. Patton, and Michael Straight.
64. The New York Times, December 3, 1945. Text released by The Nation as a press release and reprinted as “We Turned the Switch,” December 22, 1945, pp. 718–19 (LSP 34/9).
65. Ibid.
66. William Higinbotham interview with Alice K. Smith, in AKS/MIT, p. 248.
67. See Szilard’s December 8, 1945, drafts (LSP).
68. Atomic Energy. Hearings, Part 2, on S. Res. 179, A Resolution Creating a Special Committee to Investigate Problems Relating to the Development, Use, and Control of Atomic Energy. Szilard’s testimony appears on pp. 267–300 (LSP 71/7).
69. Anthony Leviero, The New York Times, December 11, 1945.
70. Anthony Leviero, “Scientists and Senators Puzzle over Atom Control,” The New York Times, December 16, 1945.
71. AKS/MIT, p. 269.
72. Introduced as S. 1717.
73. Hewlett and Anderson, p. 476.
74. Press release from The Nation, December 3, 1945. “Address by Dr. Leo Szilard . . .” (LSP 34/9).
CHAPTER 20
1. Bronowski wrote: “As you know, Szilard failed [to prevent the atomic bombing of Japan], and with him the community of scientists failed. He did what a man of integrity could do. He gave up physics and turned to biology—that is how he came to the Salk Institute—and persuaded others too.” The Ascent of Man (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1973), p. 370. See also “Jacob Bronowski: Life and Legacy,” KPBS Television, San Diego, October 2, 1984, transcript, p. 13.
2. Max Lerner interview, January 23, 1986.
3. Szilard file, “Biographical Information for University Records,” a questionnaire dated August 18, 1959, quote in “recreational or diversional interests.” News and Information Office, University of Chicago.
4. US Atomic Energy Commission, In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer, p. 172. According to Groves’s biographer, Stanley Goldberg, the only other individual the general distrusted and disliked so intensely was the uranium merchant Boris Pregel, a Russian immigrant. Szilard and Pregel worked together secretly in the early 1940s to secure uranium for the US A-bomb program, and during and after the war Szilard invested in Pregel’s Eldorado Radium Corporation.
5. Nichols to Groves, January 12, 1946 (LSP).
6. PM, March 8, 1946, p. 3. The New York Times, March 9, 1946. The New York Herald Tribune, March 9, 1946, pp. 1 and 6.
7. Frances Henderson handwritten notes of March 8, 1946, interview. My thanks to Alice K. Smith for a copy of these notes. Typed notes in LSP.
8. Wigner is Jewish. Fermi was not Jewish but his wife was, and they left Italy in December 1938 because of anti-Semitism there.
9. Interviews with George Weil, April 7, 1983; Robert Wilson, November 21, 1985; and Herbert Anderson, October 6, 1986. Wigner, Fermi, and Anderson were quick to recognize that the buildup of boron in the Hanford reactors was squelching the chain reaction. But it was the Du Pont engineers’ conservative overdesign of the reactors that allowed the problem to be corrected easily.
10. Ernest O. Lawrence, in Groves’s view, was “not a genius” but “just a hard worker.”
11. Henderson handwritten notes of the Szilard interview, beginning on p. 4.
12. The ceremony occurred on March 20, 1946. The New York Times, March 21, 1946.
13. New York Post, May 7, 1946 (LSP). At the time, Szilard had been a naturalized US citizen for more than three years and was qualified to continue nuclear research.
14. Daniels to A. H. Frye, Jr., May 3, 1946, and copy of Recommendation (MED).
15. Groves to district engineer, Oak Ridge. EIDM-WL-26, July 8, 1946. “Subject: Recommendation for Military Decoration (Dr. Leo Szilard)” (MED).
16. Szilard to Daniels, May 9, 1946 (LSP 7/5).
17. Daniels to Szilard, May 10, 1946 (LSP 7/5).
18. Szilard to Trude, May 12, 1946 (EWP). Civil Service Commission Investigation of July 6–9, 1959, p. 2 (LSP). See also Daniels to Szilard, May 10 and 15, 1946 (LSP 7/5).
19. US Atomic Energy Commission, In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer, p. 172. Szilard’s annotated copy of the Oppenheimer hearing transcript is now with MIT molecular biologist Maurice Fox.
20. L. Groves. Entry 10, Comments, interviews, and reviews. Box 6 RG 200 (MED). See Groves’s copy of Margaret Gowing’s Britain and Atomic Energy 1939–1945, US Military Academy Library.
21. p. 33, Groves’s note a.
22. Ibid., p. 34, Groves’s note a.
23. Ibid., p. 130, Groves’s note b.
24. Ibid., p. 376, Groves’s note c.
25. Giovannitti and Freed, pp. 23 and 48. Groves’s copy is in the library of the US Military Academy.
CHAPTER 21
1. FBI director J. Edgar Hoover to Byron R. White, sent May 12, 1961 (LSP).
2. Conversation with Harold Agnew and Alvin Weinberg, April 26, 1989; see also “Remembering Herb Anderson” by Harold Agnew. “A Memorial Colloquium Honoring Herbert L. Anderson,” August 31, 1988, Los Alamos National Labratory. Los Alamos, New Mexico (LALP-89-14), pp. 23–24.
3. Herbert Anderson interview, October 6, 1986.
4. Civil Service Commission Investigatio
n of July 6–9, 1959, pp. 2–3 (LSP). Chicago Sunday Tribune, October 13, 1946. FBI report, December 23, 1946, p. 3 (LSP). Appointment letter from assistant comptroller to Szilard, October 25, 1946 (LSP). Complaint in Szilard to L. T. Coggshall, January 28, 1950 (LSP).
5. Szilard to Niels Bohr, November 7, 1950. MIT Vol. I, p. xix.
6. Hans Zeisel interview with Alice K. Smith, February 9, 1960.
7. Norene Mann interview, July 11, 1986.
8. After his death in 1964, Szilard’s papers were assembled by his widow in La Jolla, at first cataloged by the container in which they were found. The first “find list” of the Szilard papers is organized by such categories as “Plaid Zipper Bag,” “Blue Suitcase from Greens,” and “Red Plaid Zipper Bag from Denver.” Szilard kept his most important personal documents in the “Big Bomb Suitcase,” so named because he wanted it with him in case of a nuclear war.
9. “The Facts About the Hydrogen Bomb,” University of Chicago Round Table Radio Discussion, February 26, 1950. Interview with Harrison Brown, October 6, 1986.
10. Alvin Weinberg interview, August 9, 1988.
11. Fortune magazine’s article about “The Great Science Debate” quoted Szilard in June 1946, p. 245.
12. AKS/MIT, pp. 337–38. It is unclear if Szilard arrived in New York in time to watch Baruch’s UNAEC presentation. He bought a ticket in Los Angeles on June 13 and according to tax records was in New York by the fifteenth (LSP).
13. MIT Vol. I, pp. 178–89. See also University of Chicago press release, July 31, 1946, Szilard file, University of Chicago News and Information Office.
14. University of Chicago Archives, Quadrangle Club Records, Guest Register 1937–1955, 7/3 (JRL). Hans Zeisel interview with Alice K. Smith, February 9, 1960. Zeisel interview, February 25, 1987.
15. Foreword to MIT Vol. I, pp. xvi–xvii.
16. Jacob Marschak essay, prepared for MIT Vol. III ms but not used. I am grateful to the late Helen Hawkins for a copy of this manuscript. Szilard had first devised monetary reforms in 1919, and just after completing his doctorate in physics in 1922, he asked to start a second degree in economics. Discouraged at the time by a university official, Szilard nonetheless continued to think and talk about economics, first to save the world from monetary and fiscal crises in the 1920s and 1930s, later to multiply his own savings. See also Szilard’s lecture on education at Brandeis, October 23, 1953 (LSP 42/20).
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