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Burlington Atomic Energy Week, 1947

Interview of Mrs. Dorothy Schramm Page 5

                                                  Sunday 5

ANNOUNCER  What do you mean, people don't need that kind of xxxxx information.

TRAPNELL  The information needed by the people of Burlington, of Iowa, and the United States, as a basis for the intelligetn exercise of their voting franchise, is not the mm highly technical or scientific information which is secret, or restricted data as defined in the Atomic Energy Act of 1946. All of the information--and much more--that ix is required for a sound public appraisal of atomic energy is already xxx public. Much of it was never any secret, but was subject to cesnorship during the war because the government xxx didn't want any discussion at all of atomic energy. This information on x s readily available today--or perhaps I should say it is available and the purpose of xxx such things as Atomic Energy Week is to make it more readily available.

SCHRAMM  Mr. Trapnell, is the government going to do the education and information job which seems to be so necessary to our atomic development.

TRAPNELL  No, and for a lot of good reasons! For one thing, the job is to big for the government. No agency of the federal government should have the responsibility for the interpretation and dissemination of this information. Our job is to maintain the security of that technological information whose release would help others to make a weapon. be the wholesalers, as it were, of other information which is developed as part of the United States atomic energy program.

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Sunday 5 ANNOUNCER What do you mean, people don't need that kind of xxxxx information. TRAPNELL The information needed by the people of Burlington, of Iowa, and the United States, as a basis for the intelligetn exercise of their voting franchise, is not the mm highly technical or scientific information which is secret, or restricted data as defined in the Atomic Energy Act of 1946. All of the information--and much more--that ix is required for a sound public appraisal of atomic energy is already xxx public. Much of it was never any secret, but was subject to cesnorship during the war because the government xxx didn't want any discussion at all of atomic energy. This information on x s readily available today--or perhaps I should say it is available and the purpose of xxx such things as Atomic Energy Week is to make it more readily available. SCHRAMM Mr. Trapnell, is the government going to do the education and information job which seems to be so necessary to our atomic development. TRAPNELL No, and for a lot of good reasons! For one thing, the job is to big for the government. No agency of the federal government should have the responsibility for the interpretation and dissemination of this information. Our job is to maintain the security of that technological information whose release would help others to make a weapon. be the wholesalers, as it were, of other information which is developed as part of the United States atomic energy program.