606
PARTISAN REVIEW
the hearings there appears a certain note of moral advantage in Mr.
Gray's dealings with the defense which is not to be heard in his
dealings with Mr. Robb. This unfortunate tone intensifies with the
passage of the days until, near the close of the sessions, when Dr.
Vannevar Bush is recalled as a rebuttal witness, Mr. Gray not only
allows Mr. Robb to badger Dr. Bush as if he were a witness in a
criminal trial but himself so far exceeds the situation as to address a
distinguished member of the community a<; if he were a schoolboy.
As
the Chairman, Mr. Gray was the most exposed member of
the Board. The behavior of the other two members must be differ–
ently characterized. Mr. Morgan spoke scarcely a word throughout
the inquiry; we know him only through the majority opinion in
which he concurred.
As
to Dr. Evans, his questions and remarks are
hardly the more cogent for so obviously proceeding from a struggling
mind and heart. His often comic and touching awkwardness before
the momentous problem he is .asked to consider are not reflected in
his
minority report, but they must be taken to account for its
weakness.
No doubt it was necessary to have a scientist on the Board, and
manifestly it must have been difficult to find a reputable member
of the profession, other than Dr. Evans, who was sufficiently remote
from the persons and issues in the controversy to qualify as without
bias. For this is another, and surely the most significant, element
in Dr. Oppenheimer's investigation which cannot be appreciated
without knowledge of the record-the professional in-fighting in–
volved in it.
Thirty-nine witnesses appeared for and against Dr. Oppenheimer
in the hearings and gave many long hours of testimony. Of the thirty–
nine, only his wife was not professionally concerned in the affairs
which concerned Dr. Oppenheimer. All the rest were either them–
selves scientists who had worked on government programs which also
involved Dr. Oppenheimer, or military or other official persons closely
connected with the scientific-military projects and policies which
have engaged Dr. Oppenheimer over the last eleven years-in this
latter group 1 include, of course, security officers who had had deal–
ings with him, and government officials like Mr. Lilienthal and former
Ambassador Kennan. There were no nonprofessional friends and
acquaintances such as even the most dedicated man of science must
