a pointed-arch window at the bright autumn sky. He was a tubby, jowly little fellow. I'd been seeing him around for a couple of years at testimonial banquets and press conferences, but I didn't expect him to remember me. He did, though, and even got the name right.
'Mr. Vilchek?' he beamed. 'From the Tribune?'
'That's right, Dr. Sugarman. How are you?'
'Fine; fine. Sit down, please. Well, what shall we talk about?'
'Well, Dr. Sugarman, I'd like to have your ideas on the really fundamental issues of atomic energy, A-bomb control and so on. What in your opinion is the single most important factor in these problems?'
His eyes twinkled; he was going to surprise me. 'Education!' he said, and leaned back waiting for me to register shock.
I registered. 'That's certainly a different approach, doctor. How do you mean that, exactly?'
He said impressively: 'Education—technical education—is the key to the underlying issues of our time. I am deeply concerned over the unawareness of the general public to the meaning and accomplishments of science. People underrate me—underrate science, that is —because they do not understand science. Let me show you something.' He rummaged for a moment through papers on his desk and handed me a sheet of lined tablet paper covered with chicken-track handwriting. 'A letter I got,' he said. I squinted at the penciled scrawl and read:
October 12
Esteemed Sir:
Beg to introduce self to you the atomic Scientist as a youth 17 working with diligence to perfect self in Mathematical Physics. The knowledge of English is imperfect since am in New-York 1 year only from Puerto Rico and due to Father and Mother poverty must wash the dishes in the restaurant. So es teemed sir excuse imperfect English which will better.
I hesitate intruding your valuable Scientist time but hope you sometime spare minutes for diligents such as I. My difficulty is with neutron cross-section absorptionof boron steel in Reactor which theory I am working out Breeder reactors demand
for boron steel, compared with neutron cross-section absorption of for any Concrete with which I familiarize myself. Whence arises relationship
indicating only a fourfold breeder gain. Intuitively I dissatisfy with this gain and beg to intrude your time to ask wherein I neglect. With the most sincere thanks.
J. Gomez
% Porto Bello Lunchroom
124th St. & St. Nicholas Ave.
New-York, New-York
I laughed and told Dr. Sugarman appreciatively: 'That's a good one. I wish our cranks kept in touch with us by mail, but they don't. In the newspaper business they come in-and demand to see the editor. Could I use it, by the way? The readers ought to get a boot out of it.'
He hesitated and said: 'All right—if you don't use my name. Just say 'a prominent physicist.' I didn't think it was too funny myself though, but I see your point, of course. The boy may be feebleminded—and he probably is— but he believes, like too many people, that science is just a bag of tricks that any ordinary person can acquire—'
And so on and so on.
I went back to the office and wrote the interview in twenty minutes. It took me longer than that to talk the Sunday editor into running the Gomez letter in a box on the atom-anniversary page, but he finally saw it my way. I had to retype it. If I'd just sent the letter down to the composing room as was, we would have had a strike on our hands.
On Sunday morning, at a quarter past six, I woke up to the tune of fists thundering on my hotel-room door. I found my slippers and bathrobe-and lurched Wearily across the room. They didn't wait for me to unlatch. The door opened. I saw one of the hotel clerks, the Sunday editor, a frosty-faced old man, and three hard-faced, hard-eyed young men. The hotel clerk mumbled and retreated and the others moved in.
'Chief,' I asked the Sunday editor hazily, 'what's going—?'
A hard-faced young man was standing with his back to the door; another was standing with his back to the window and the third was blocking the bathroom door. The icy old man interrupted me with a crisp authoritative question snapped at the editor. 'You identify this man as Vilchek?'
The editor nodded.
'Search him,' snapped the old man. The fellow standing guard at the window slipped up and frisked me for weapons while I sputtered incoherently and the Sunday editor avoided my eye.
When the search was over the frosty-faced old boy said to me: 'I am Rear Admiral MacDonald, Mr. Vilchek. I'm here in my capacity as deputy director of the Office of Security and Intelligence, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission. Did you write this?' He thrust a newspaper clipping at my face.
I read, blearily:
WHAT'S SO TOUGH ABOUT A-SCIENCE?
TEENAGE POT-WASHER DOESN'T KNOW
A letter received recently by a prominent local atomic scientist points up Dr. Sugarman's complaint (see adjoining column) that the public does not appreciate how hard a physicist works. The text, complete with 'mathematics' follows:
Esteemed Sir:
Beg to introduce self to you the Atomic Scientist as youth 17 working—
'Yes,' I told the admiral. 'I wrote it, except for the headline. What about it?'
He snapped: 'The letter is purportedly from a New York youth seeking information, yet there is no address for him given. Why is that?'
I said patiently: 'I left it off when I copied it for the composing room.
That's Trib style on readers' letters. What is all this about?'
He ignored the question and asked: 'Where is the purported original of the letter?'
I thought hard and told him: 'I think I stuck it in my pants pocket. I'll get it—' I started for the chair with my suit draped over it.
'Hold it, mister!' said the young man at the bathroom door. I held it and he proceeded to go through the pockets of the suit. He found the Gomez letter in the inside breast pocket of the coat and passed it to the admiral. The old man compared it, word for word, with the clipping and then put them both in his pocket.
'I want to thank you for your cooperation,' he said coldly to me and the Sunday editor. 'I caution you not to discuss, and above all not to publish, any account of this incident. The national security is involved in the highest degree. Good day.'
He and his boys started for the door, and the Sunday editor came to life.
'Admiral,' he said, 'this is going to be on the front page of tomorrow's Trib.'
The admiral went white. After a long pause he said: 'You are aware that this country may be plunged, into global war at any moment. That American boys are dying every day in border skirmishes. Is it to protect civilians like you who won't obey a reasonable request affecting security?'
The Sunday editor took a seat on the edge of my rumpled bed and lit a cigarette. 'I know all that, admiral,' he said. 'I also know that this is a free country and how to keep it that way. Pitiless light on incidents like this of illegal search and seizure.'
The admiral said: 'I personally assure you, on my honor as an officer, that you would be doing the country a grave disservice by publishing an account of this.'
The Sunday editor said mildly: 'Your honor as an officer. You broke into this room without a search warrant. Don't you realize that's against the law? And I saw your boy ready to shoot when Vilchek started for that chair.' I began to sweat a little at that, but the admiral was sweating harder.
With an effort he said: 'I should apologize for the abruptness and discourtesy with which I've treated you. I do apologize. My only excuse is that, as I've said, this is a crash-priority matter. May I have your assurance that you gentlemen will keep silent?'
'On one condition,' said the Sunday editor. 'I want the Trib to have an exclusive on the Gomez story. I want Mr. Vilchek to cover it, with your full cooperation. In return, we'll hold it for your release and submit it to your
