The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-08-18

States. Catholics have turned to
 her and asked her assistance in
 the awful struggle. They see more
 than poetic justice in the fact that
 the Japanese accepted the terms of surrender on the vigil of the
 Feast of the Assumption of Mary.
 Her medal was worn almost as
 generally as the sd0g-tag' by the
 Catholic servicemen; and thou
 sands not Catholic put themselves
 under her protection.
 Apparently the Japanese had never conceived the possibility of an in- vasion of the home islands. They seemed to have staked everything on the island defenses' that ring the homeland. The elaborateness and tenacity of the defense of Two Jima and Okinawa would seem to indicate this. The fact that the forces of the United States had crushed these outer defenses and were poised for invasion must have brought home to them the fact that the war was over.
 The action of Russia and the atomic bomb certainly swept away any hesitation they may have had.
 Certainly some discrimination was shown in the use of the atomic bomb. The actual results of both bombings stupefying, not only on the Japanese, but on ourselves. John Foster Dulles, speaking for the American Federation of Churches, hastened to point out that there was a moral issue involved. CThe De- stroyerS' were, of course, quick to go after him. What does he mean, morality?' Just another appeaser'. The usual foolish gibberish was forthcoming from the boys who fought the war in an r-conditioned studio or from behind the roar of a typewriter. They are scarcely worth noticing, save to.keep in mind what they are after. They want the word morality deleted from the lan- guage.)
 A Moral Question
 It is clear that our government was profoundly aware of the moral problem involved in the use of such bomb. MT. Truman in public statement over the radio announced that the secret of the bomb would not be made public property until there was forthcoming a genuine guarantee that it would not be used for purposes of making war.
 MT. Truman must have deemed
 the use of the bomb on two oc-
 casiOns as morally justifiable.
 There had been, for about a
 month, a series of raids on Japa-
 nese targets which were carried
 out on train-scheduIe. Stops were
 designated in advance, and a req
 s0nable time warning was issued.
 The precision of the raids, and
 the advance notice, certainly gave
 the Japanese warning that the f leaflets meant what they said.
 This was, no doubt, preparatory
 for the atomic bombing. MT. Tru-
 man may have reasoned thus: The civilians have been. warned in
 advance; the specific target is an
 Oil-refining center, or a munitions
 plant. (There can hardly be a
 specific target, of course, in a
 populated area, except in the0ry.)
 The effect of the bomb will be to
 end the war, and the loss of civilians who may have remained
 in spite of the warnings is inci-
 dental to the total effect, and certainly not 'willed' by our gen. eral staff.
 It is somewhat disquieting to read the comment of an international jurist, J. M. Spaight, who wrote in 1910: "Ihe separation of armies and peaceful inhabitants into two dis tirfct groups is perhaps the greatest triumph of international law. Its effect in mitigating the evils of war has been incalculable. One must read the history of ancient wars, or savage wars of modern times to ap- preciate the immense gain to the world from the distinction between combatants and non-combatants."
 The introduction of the atemic bomb underllnes most emphastic- ally how our knowledge in science has outstripped our moral develop ment. If Christianity had been tried. and the moral principals of its teaching been woven inte our culture the problem Of '0bllteratien bombing could net eoneeiyabIy have been raised.
 It is time nov, with peace 70. turned, t0 start chopping our way out of the jungle Into which we have been lead. fs b time 10 look again at the map iIe gave ns when He said 70 am the way" If we are not con. ylneed ol that noW. He shall never bs convinced Of il, And the last days of human society may sell he spent in eltias iho'iaands os feet ssles 70 ,.. ,hs ... s',ls,. s. ,.. p .s ns earth