SECRET OF ATOMIC BOMB

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23332, 16 October 1945, Page 5

SECRET OF ATOMIC BOMB

Attitude Of America Troubled Thinking In Britain By Telegraph—N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright (Rec. 7.30 p.m.) LONDON, Oct. 15. lhe announcement by President Truman that the atomic bomb is to remain the secret of the United States, together with the statement by General George C. Marshall (U.S. Chief of Staff) that America must have peacetime conscription to prepare against atomic war, together with his picture of the devastating weapons of the future, resulted in some troubled thinking in Great Britain. Questions have been asked in the House of Commons, Church and political leaders have expressed grave misgivings and the public generally is inclined to be restless and uneasy, not only over the question whether the secret of the atomic bomb should or should not be shared, but also on the antagonisms it may engender between various nations. Russia is a case in point. • Wellinformed opinion is that her distrust and suspicion of the Western Powers have been increased since the atomic bombs were dropped. The Russian Press has recently coined the phrase “atomic democracy.” and responsible reports from the Soviet confirm that Russian military authorities are very uneasy at the arrival of this new weapon. The chief point which is being debated here at present about the atomic bomb is the question of its control, which has yet to be decided. Mr Attlee has stated in the House of Commons that no arrangement has yet been agreed upon between the major

Allies to prevent any State with aggressive intentions from being able secretly to manufacture atomic bombs in future. He added that he was in communication with President Truman on the general question of control. Mr Truman has stated that Britain and Canada know with America the whole secret of the bomb, but the knowledge of how to put it together and operate it belonged to America alone, and it was a secret that would never be given to any other country. There is some opposition to this decision here, but just what British policy is to be nobody is certain. Mr Attlee has said he prefers to make no statement at present.

There is no denying the fact that the House of Commons and a wide section of the public are restless over the present position. Professor A. V. Hill, one of Britain’s foremost scientists and secretary of the Royal Society, has told the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee that the only hope of a decent and reasonable use being made of atomic energy lies in frankness.

Monopoly Impressible “To suppose that this business of atomic energy could remain a secret for long—long enough to matter—is complete moonshine,” he said recently. “There can be no monopoly in the laws of nature.” He added that a proper treatment now of the subject of atomic energy was probably the most important matter on which decisions bv the United Nations ought to be reached. Mr S. C. Garland, treasurer of the committee, has stated that scientific work on atomic energy should be published freely and made available to scientific men all over the world. Sir Arthur Salter. M.P., holds the view that America, Great Britain and Canada should at once offer to entrust the secret to the Security Council on condition that each country (including those making the offer) should give the Council effective rights of inspection in their territories, the Council having the right to send its inspectors everywhere and being required by an irrevocable decision to destroy " any bomb-producing- factories, except in the Council’s own territory, suitably situated and adequately guarded by an international force.

The Archbishop of Canterbury <Di Geoffrey Fisher) has remarked that the atomic bomb has made Christian conscience “profoundly uneasy.” The

question was whether it was the last and worse destroyer of civilised life, fie stated that the British Council of Churches was establishing an expert committee to consider the moral and spiritual implications of modern warfare and other aspects of the problem.

“I think we would all agree that it. is a subject about which denominational differences are quite irrelevant, and co-operative investigation under the Council of Churches is especially suitable,” he added. Lord Brabazon takes a rather more optimistic view than many people, for he told a gathering in London this

week: ‘I want to impress upon you not to be afraid of the atomic bomb. There is nothing secret about it, for every physicist knows the general principles, and anyone with £400.000,000 can make one.”

Others are of the opinion that it will be possible to provide a complete defence.

International Aspects So much for aspects of public opinion on the control of the atomic bomb. What of its influence in international affairs? There is the fear that America’s decision to retain the secret may Indicate that she intends to use it in the game of power politics to reinforce pressure. "The New Statesman and Nation,” for instance, remarks that the American policy appears to consist in reserving an exclusive American sphere in the New World and in the Far East, while at the same time intervening in the East European zone, which the Russians insist as regarding as their own. It continues: “In the Pacific zone General MacArthur is an unchallenged dictator, who makes and unmakes a puppet Government at will. America insists on the right, not merely of France, but of China, to discuss affairs in the Balkans. But in deciding the shape of Japan’s future Government and social structure, no other Power, not even Japan’s neighbours, the Russians. Australians and Chinese, have yet had any say. While the State Department is agreeable to a Five Power Advisory Council, it has flatly laid down the rule that, if opinions should differ, it is the American view that must 'govern.’ Can anyone honestly be surprised at Moscow’s reaction to this aspect of atomic democracy?” Perhaps this may be a case of overemphasis, but it serves to illustrate the brooding uncertainty surrounding the whole subject. A fact which hangs like a dark cloud on the horizon is that the atomic bomb, which went a long way towards finishing off Japan, could actually be the cause of another and more ghastlv war. Few people believe that the secret can remain indefinitely the property of one nation. Scientists Favour World Authority NEW YORK, October 14. Four hundred scientists who developed the atomic bomb at the Government’s laboratory at Los Alamos, New Mexico, issued the following statement: “We are convinced that we must co-operate with the rest of the world in the future development of atomic power which, as a. weapon, must be controlled b.v a world authorilv. This is technically feasible. “Before many years other countries may be manufacturing bombs which will possibly be tens of hundreds or even thousands of times more powerful than those dropned on Japan.” Scientists at Chicago University declared that expert scientific opinion contradicts the House Navy Committee’s report of effective countermeasures for atomic bombs. The scientists termed the report regrettable and highly misleading.