ATOMIC ENERGY: A Constructive Proposal

by David S. Teeple ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 12, 1955

Mr. Teeple's proposal to place the atomic energy program under the executive, with full cabinet status, brings forward a host of polemical sore spots: the lack of a central authority in AEC; the danger that any commission with the powers of AEC may become a menace, especially where members- once appointed- cannot be removed until they have completed their 9-year tenure; the political consequences of atomic energy, virtually bypassed in AEC, which range from the threat of patronage in measures such as the Dixon-Yates contract to subsidies for educational institutions and industrial firms, and the opening of Federal lands to uranium prospectors. The proportions of AEC are indeed awesome. In 1954 the atomic energy program numbered some 6000 on its own payroll and provided contractors with labor costs for some additional 136,000 employees. The territory specifically devoted to atomic purposes now exceeds an area the size of Rhode Island. Since the future of America will in most major respects be influenced and shaped by the uses of nuclear power, Mr. Teeple sees in any official atomic body that is not within reach of public opinion and not obliged to have its findings put under review a real danger. Such a body will gain a kind of social as well as political hegemony, with its decisions and manipulations forever cloaked in the presumed interests of national safety. This is a disturbing book, important to any politically conscious person.

Pub Date: Sept. 12, 1955

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown-D.S.P.

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955

Categories: NONFICTION