On with the Job

The vote on the Lilienthal appointment had been set for 5 p.m. For the preceding hour the Senate had been idle and Senators had strolled about the cloakrooms, smoking and gossiping. At the appointed time they walked back in. No one wanted to say much; everyone's mind was made up. In a few minutes it was all over and David E. Lilienthal--center of the most violent controversy which had touched the 80th Congress--was confirmed as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.

The nomination had been opposed by the weight of the G.O.P. leadership--Policy Committee Chairman Robert Taft, Majority Leader Wallace White, Majority Whip Kenneth Wherry--and 23 GOPsters had loyally backed them up. But more significant was the fact that 20 Republicans had broken away to follow the lead of Michigan's Arthur Vandenberg in voting for confirmation. With 37 of the 44 Democrats voting or paired for approval, the truant Republicans provided the margin of victory. It was a personal triumph for Arthur Vandenberg.

Within a few minutes the Senate then confirmed the other AEC Commissioners: Robert F. Bacher, Lewis L. Strauss, William W. Waymack, Sumner T. Pike and General Manager Carroll L. Wilson. Next day, the Commission held a meeting of the entire staff in the auditorium of the Public Health building, into which the Commission had moved three weeks ago. The sense of the meeting: "Now we can get on with the job."

One of the first, though minor, tasks would be the hiring of a gardener. The lawns surrounding the gleaming white building, like some other AEC matters, had grown shaggy and ragged during the weeks of uncertainty.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.