ATOMIC BOMB SECRET

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24679, 24 September 1945, Page 5

ATOMIC BOMB SECRET

Allies’Attitude To Russia CONSIDERATION BY U.S. CABINET (N.Z. Press Association— Copyright) (Rec. 7.30 p.m.) NEW YORK, Sept. 22. “The United States Cabinet, in the longest session of the current Administration, reached no decision on a proposal by the Secretary of Commerce, (Mir H. Wallace) that Great Britain, the United States, and Canada should reveal the secret of the atomic bomb to Russia,” says the Washington correspondent of the “New York Times. “President Truman wijl, it is believed, give the proposal his deepest consideration before supporting it. Even if Britain and Canada support the proposal, the United States Army and Navy feel strongly that the secret should not be revealed to anybody until an antidote is discovered. “Mr Wallace claimed that now is the time to make a real start towards a working world union by. a demonstration or good faith to Russia, which, if given the. secret, would be under a perpetual obligation never to use the atomic bomb against any of her present Allies. Mr Wallace and his adherents believe that Russia is certain to learn of the bomb’s secret in the not far distant future, and that Russia should be brought quickly into full play as a force for perpetual world peace rather than as a continuing question mark in all international discussions, ‘ , “The scheme’s opponents said Russia would be so long in developing the bomb that Britain and America would, by that time, have discovered an antidote, but they urged that any thought of disclosure should be postponed until after the various peace settlements were finally determined. “Mr Truman must make the final decision. It is recalled that he refused to reveal the atomic bomb secret to Mr Stalin at Potsdam, even though he had the secret in his pocket. Mr Truman, it is believed, took the view that Mr Stalin refused to reveal secrets during the European war of Russian rocket guns, tanks, and field pieces which were superior to British and American weapons, and he, therefore, could rightly withhold our greatest secret from Mr Stalin. The Russian insistence of the utmost secrecy regarding their weapons has been one of the legends of this war, and one of the greatest thorns in the side of the Allied High Command. “The chairman of the. Senate’s foreign relations committee , (Mr T. Connally) later said’ that Mr Truman would probably reveal his views on the atomic bomb in a message to Congress next week.” INTERVIEW WITH ILS. PAPER FIELD-MARSHAL TO REPORT LONDON, September 21. Statements that Russia could develop the atomic bomb within five years, and that he was worried about the Balkans, where, without American influence, there was nothing to prevent Russia gaining the mastery, are attributed to Field-Marshal Sir Henry Maitland Wilson in an interview published by the Baltimore “Sun." An official message from Washington states that Field-Marshal Wilson, who is British representative on the Joint Staff Mission, made no mention of Russia in the interview, and spoke only in general terms. The British Foreign Office says that Field-Marshal Wilson has been asked to report on the interview he gave the Baltimore “Sun" regarding the occupation of Japan and Russian policy. In the meantime, it is stated, any opinions Field-Marshal Wilson may have expressed were purely personal and do not represent the British Government’s views. “TOO MUCH TALK OF SOFT PEACE” SAN FRANCISCO, September 20. “The American people will never forget Pearl Harbour; it is going, to be tough on . Japan,” said Mr Edwin Pauley, head of the American section of the Allied Reparations Committee, before leaving for Japan. “There is entirely too much talk about a soft peace for Japan. The United States wants goods rather than money as reparations from Japan.” RECONSTRUCTION OF FRANCE (Rec. 11.30 p.m.) PARIS, Sept. 22. General de Gaulle, broadcasting on the eve of the provincial elections, said: “France, after years of war, must make sure that she gets her just deserts. We must establish national and international agreements and see that France is allowed to lead Indo-China to liberty and prosperity.” General de Gaulle gave a warning that although much had been accomplished since the liberation of France, her industrial output was still less than half its pre-war volume. Eisenhower in Poland.—General Eisenhower received a tumultuous welcome from thousands of Poles lining the streets of Warsaw. In a speech he paid a tribute to the Polish fighting forces. He said that Warsaw was far more tragic than anything he had seen. It represented the deliberate destruction and burning out of the entire city by the Germans.—Warsaw, September 21.