31 



the additive in question was Anthoiit merit. ^^ Of greater significance 

 for the underlying issue was the report of the Kelly committee, whose 

 initial findings went to the Secretary in late July, and whose formal 

 report was transmitted October 15. 



The Kelly committee found that the quality of personnel and 

 scientific research of the Bureau were high, but that basic research 

 had lost ground "at a tragic rate" to sponsored development of 

 military hardware for the Department of Defense and the U.S. Atomic 

 Energy Commission. With respect to the AD-X2 controversy, the 

 committee recommended that the NBS be insulated from contact 

 with private industry on the nontechnical aspects of commercial 

 testing, and that the Secretary of Commerce be made responsible for 

 the "policy and the establishment of the nontechnical procedures on 

 commercial product tests." ^^ In carrying out this second recom- 

 mendation, the Secretary transferred NBS from the jurisdiction of the 

 Assistant Secretary for Domestic Affairs to the Assistant Secretary 

 for Administration. The Kelly committee quite evidently sought to 

 remove the NBS from the kind of contacts with private industr}^ that 

 had led to the AD-X2 controversy, which was explicitly cited in the 

 report: "The current 'Battery Additive' evaluation is typical of others 

 that have sporadically occurred throughout the Bureau's history 

 where its findings have been challenged and \\'ide public attention 

 directed to them." 



The committee recommends that policy and procedures of a nontechnical 

 nature, particularly with other agencies of Government, for handling commercial 

 product tests be reviewed by the Secretary of Commerce and appropriate members 

 of his staff with the Director of the Bureau of Standards. The committee recom- 

 mends that the policy and establishment of the nontechnical procediu-es on com- 

 mercial product tests be the responsibility of the Secretary of Commerce. The 

 policy on the technical content of the problem should reside with the Director 

 of the Bureau. We believe that the area of commercial product tests involves 

 policies and actions of a nontechnical nature on which the Director of the Bureau 

 should not be required to make the decisions.*^ 



Apparently his contacts with Director Astin, and his discussions 

 with Dr. Kelly on the future of the Bureau, satisfied Secretary Weeks 

 as to the merits of Dr. Astin. Members of the Visiting Committee had 

 been asked to nominate possible candidates for the du'ectorship, and 

 had unanimously agreed to recommend Astm's retention. Accordingly, 

 on August 21, he announced that Dr. Astin was being retained as "a 

 member of my team." ^^ 



AJD-X2 and the Senate Select Committee on Small Business 



At the opening of the hearings on "Investigation of Battery Ad- 

 ditive AD-X2," the chau'man. Senator Edward J. Thye, described the 

 function of his committee: "* * * to help create an atmosphere in our 

 general economy that is conducive to the welfare of small-business 

 enterprise and the creation of new business." ^^ Subsequent testimony 

 brought out the fact that the particular product that was the subject 



63 Report of the Committee on Battery Additives. Op. cit., p. 1. 



6< Ad Hoc Committee for Evaluation of the Present Functions and Operations of the National Bureau 

 of Standards. A "Report to the Secretary of Commerce on tlie Present Functions and Operations of the 

 National Bureau of Standards With Their Evaluation in Relation to Present National Needs and Recom- 

 mendations for Improvement and Strengthening of the Bureau." ((Washington), processed Oct. 15, 1953), 

 p. 16. 



'5 Idem. 



6» Lawrence, op. cit., p. 27. Noted the New York Times: "Dr. Astin has since been reinstated, and Craig 

 R. Sheafler, an Assistant Secretary of Commerce, who has been popularly credited with trying to get rid of 

 Dr. Astin, has resigned" ("Scientists Praise Standards Agency," New York Times, (Oct. 16, 1953), p. 11, 

 col. 3). 



6' Hearings, op. cit., p. 1. 



