THE ADMINISTRATION: 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,...