struction of classified material in the custody of Federal agencies and of private contractors having defense contracts. This problem is one of significant proportions and is the source of much dissatisfaction, particularly on the part of industrial contractors. The Commission recommends no specific legislation for uniform penalties for violation of classification statutes and agency regulation at this time. The question of uniform criminal penalties for violations of document classification statutes and agency regulations is not under consideration here. This recommendation refers only to uniform administrative penalties which may be imposed by departments and agencies, without original recourse to courts of law. Administrative penalties are not in the nature of statutory penalties and their provisions for similar infractions may vary considerably from one agency to another, or even within the same agency. For example, one agency may issue only an admonition to an employee for a first violation of regulations, suspend him for the second, and discharge him for the third, while another agency may follow another practice. The Commission reviewed the manuals and regulations of several departments and agencies with reference to penalties for administrative violation of security regulations, including penalties for infractions of agency rules for classified information. There appears to be considerable latitude in their provisions as suggested above. The Commission, however, took cognizance of the fact that administrative penalty procedures in the various departments and agencies are integral parts of their housekeeping functions. They are not directed entirely toward the document classification program. For that reason and because of the impossibility, within the limited time and resources available, of assuming the task of collation and analysis necessary for adequate recommendations, the Commission decided not to recommend legislative action in this field at this time. The Commission recommends that, except for the review and advisory functions of the Central Security Office which require legislation, the document classification program should be embodied in an Executive order. The Commission is of the view that its recommendations regarding the document classification program should be implemented by an Executive order, and that legislation will be required only for the creation of the Central Security Office and to define its powers and duties in respect to such a program. The Commission recommends the adoption of the provisions of Executive Order 10501 except as changed and modified by the foregoing recommendations. The Commission has studied all of the provisions of Executive Order 10501 and finds no need for change, except as noted in the recommendations heretofore made. Introduction The Atomic Energy Commission was created by the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, and operates a security program which includes both civilians employed by the Federal Government and employees of industries with which the AEC has contracts. This security phase of the AEC is carried out by the Office of the Director of Security in Washington and the members of the 10 field operations offices. About 95 percent of the security work is devoted to matters affecting the AEC's classified contractors and their employees. The AEC ranks second to the Department of Defense in the number of classified contractors involved, although the actual figures are only about 2,000 for the AEC as compared with 22,000 contractors for the Department of Defense. The AEC has handled about 500,000 cases involving clearance for employees of contractors, however, as compared with 3 million by the Department of Defense. No other agency of government has any workload in industrial security which approaches the Department of Defense or the Atomic Energy Commission in size. The AEC's own personnel numbers about 6,500, 10 percent of whom are in Washington, and each of whom has a "Q" clearance based on a full field investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. All AEC security regulations and procedures are contained in volume 2000 of the AEC manual, and there are no regulations which apply separately to the employees of contractors as distinguished from the employees of the Federal Government. This single set of regulations covering all aspects of security is a feature of AEC policy not found in the Department of Defense. HISTORY General The announcement of the hypothesis of nuclear fission and its experimental confirmation took place in January 1939. In the spring of 1939, a group of American, British, and French scientists attempted to stop publication of further data by voluntary agreement, but the plan was vetoed by F. Joliot |