BRITAIN’S DEFENCES IN ATOMIC WAR NOT EVIDENT

Grey River Argus, 20 December 1948, Page 5

BRITAIN’S DEFENCES IN ATOMIC WAR NOT EVIDENT

RADIO SCIENTIST URGES MASS MIGRATION! CANBERRA, Dec. 19 Britain would be indefensible in an atomic war, because she would starve, said the Chief of Radio Research for the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Dr D. F. Martyn, who was Chief of Operational Research tor the three Australian services during World War 11, and recently returned from Europe, where he attended a number of international scientific conferences. Dr Martyn said: “Unless Britain reduces her population, her only hope ot survival nes in peace.” . 4 . r He urged a mass emigration of 20,000,00 U people from Britain to the Dominions, and . vast planning throughout the British Commonwealth to meet the threat of atomic war, in five to ten years. Dr Martyn added: “The number of atom bombs that could be made in the foreseeable future could not cripple either Russia or the United States. In my opinion, it will take Russia at least five years, and probably longer to make enough atom Pornos witn which to carry out an atomic war on a large scale. “Russia may have one bomb sooner than that, but we should know about it as soon as she tries it out, from the Western democracies’ ' atomic detectors. Industrial areas in Russia and the United States are so dispersed that it would need an impossible number of bombs to put such industries out of action. Britain, on the other hand, would be indefensible in atomic warfare. “She produces only about half the food necessary to feed her population and is thus dependent on imports of food, as well as raw materials,” continued Dr Martyn. “Ports through which these imports must pass are bottle-necks, being concentrated in a small area which could easily be knocked out. _As Britain normally carries sufficient food stocks for a month only her people would starve within a short period With Britain facing starvation and defeat in atomic warfare, her only hope of survival would be Co reduce her population to the number she could feed heisell. fihis would mean a mass emigration of about 20,000,000 people to the DomDr°Martvn said that the British Government appeared to have no defence policy to meet the threat of at Government 6 'officials refused to comnZ on Dr Martyn’s statements. A Defence Ministry spokesman, how ; J; ringed as “completely untrue’ Dr Martyn’s charge that Britain appeared to have no defence policy to meet the atomic warfare thieat. meet tne a Qr of .. Ato SctenUsteK” thought .that Dr Tt/nc a shade pessimistic. He Martyn Sever that there was no doubt’ that Britain was mere vulnermrtrthan the Unitea States or Russ.a, r U <ei£ i a d Dr«sS! n?five to ten years as a “somewhat short” period for Russia to develop her atomic potential.