Poles and Zeroes - Declassified

This issue contains a most interesting historical paper by John Hays Hammond, Jr. and E. S. Purington (page 1191). We think it significant that this paper presents, in part, technical information not heretofore published because, as the authors state, the work was performed under wraps of military security before, during, between and after World Wars I and II. The span of the story covers 50 years, and the fact the security measures could have been operative over such a period of time is food for uneasy thought. We do not claim that security classification has actually prevented until now the publication of information on, say, radio-controlled torpedo developments carried out in 1925. But it is obvious that classification has impeded the dissemination of knowledge by impounding information in files and requiring a lot of effort, not to say a change of heart, to dig it out, get it declassified and published. There are, of course, many excellent cases of early and rapid declassification, of which the M.I.T. Radiation Laboratory Series is a prime example. But these are exceptional.

Several months ago, we had the privilege of attending the first Army Science Conference at West Point. There we found the classification problem in particularly sharp focus. The conference was planned particularly to provide an opportunity, not otherwise available, for engineers and scientists in Army laboratories to present papers on their work, the majority of them classified. Attendance was by invitation only, and the strictest measures were taken to prevent the information from reaching the ears of any but the 416 invitees. Of the 101 papers presented, 29 were in the field of electronics and several others bordered on it. The papers were of high calibre and many of them commanded particular attention because of the “sensitive” subjects with which they dealt. Examples: (titles unclassified) “A Method of Locating Nuclear Detonations,” “Detection and Tracking of Missiles by Infrared Techniques,” “Ionospheric Effects of Nuclear Explosions,” “Radar Observation of Atomic Clouds.” The last named paper, by D. M. Swingle of the U. S. Army Signal Engineering Laboratories, won a prize of $500 and $3,500 in other prizes were awarded for papers in the fields of medicine, armor, ballistics, meteorology and missiles. All in all, the Army did itself proud. We don’t quarrel with the present necessity of classifying papers presented at this conference. But we can’t help wondering whether the paper on observation of atomic clouds must be forbidden to the PROCEEDINGS for the next 50 years.

All of which reminds us that the Institute, by the terms of the first paragraph of its Constitution, is committed to the dissemination of technical information and must, therefore, stand apart from sponsorship of classified meetings. The policy is well stated in the Professional Groups Manual. In essence, it requires that inclusion of classified sessions within the framework of the IRE-sponsored conferences must be avoided as a matter of principle. However, classified meetings sponsored by another organization may be held in conjunction with IRE conferences, provided that the program and publicity make it clear that the IRE does not sponsor the classified meeting.