Evening star., 1945-09-09


effective than archers of the middle
ages. This is particularly true for this
country which desires no territorial ex-
pansion at the expense of any of her
neighbors and regards it's military
strength as purely defensive.
The atomic bomb which has brought
about such radical change in the out
look on war, on the part of nonprofes-
sionals at least, will not remain for
long the exclusive secret of the Unf1ed
States, Within the next few years its
manufacture will be known to other ma
tions which will be able to improve on
the present weapon. Most professional
soldiers discount the chances of the
atomic bomb ever being used in an
other war. They are convinced that
this new instrument of destruction.
which is only in its infancy at the.
present moment, will become even more
destructive and terrifying as research
progresses.
The very destructiveneSs of the bomb
will compel nations to get together in an
agreement to refrain from using it
against one another just as has been the
case with poison gas after the last
war. When the Germans used it first
it won them battle. The Allies dis
covered not only an antidote but also
more destructive chemicals
Live Up to Gas Ban.
After the defeat of the Central Pow
ers when it was realized that every ma
ton in the world had the means to use
and also defend itself against chemical
| warfare. a general agreement was
reached outlawing the use of poison gas.
This is about the only international
agreement in recent years which has
been scrupulously observed by all the
| belligerents. When the Germans and
the japanese realized that the war was
| lost and that they would be overpowered
! by the Allies they still refrained FROM
| using chemical warfare. They knew that
| the Allies were in position to retaliate
with vengeance and preferred to ac-
! cept defeat rather than see even more
extensive destruction of their homelands
and their civilian populations.
Wars are not fought merely for the
sake of burning and killing. The nation
which starts war expects some tangi-
| BILE profits-the victor's spoils-and no.
body is interested in taking over burned
out and depopulated wastelands. Be-
cause the atomic bomb will cause inccm-
| parably worse hardships on the coun-
tries which may become involved in an
other war. there is every likelihood that
an international agreement will eventu-
ally OUTLAW its use as has been the case
| with chemical warfare 49,,
A country which, like the United
States, is interested only in warding off
aggression, must make full use of the
tremendous resources at its disposal and
the technical genius which can create
sucn weapons as the atomic bomb.
Hence, many of the leading members Of
Congress believe that instead of spend
ing hundreds of millions of dollars for
| ground forces-"archerS" as SO many
call them now-it will be far more con-
structive to spend the same amount on
creating laboratories and paying scien-
lists to continue their present work and
find means to neutraliZe whatever new
developments may appear in the scien-
tific field
Must Keep Bases.
Of course, they all agree that the Ma
ton must keep a number of air and
naval bases in the Pacific to serve as a
first line of defense Wars are no longer
formally declared by any government.
The element of surprise will play in the
future an even greater role than in the
past. Fortifcations are no longer Of
any avail. Not one coast artillery
monster-18-inch guns-has fired a
single shell in this world conf1agration
which was ended officially last Sunday.
But various islands placed at important
strategic places are essential as obServa-
ton points to prevent another sneak at
tack.
1t is realized now. however. that
neither intensive scientific military pre-
paredness nor adequate defense bases
can be OF much use unless we develop
thorough intelligence service with
ramihcations all over the world.
The United States has been partacular-
ly deficient in military and naval intel
ligence. In peacetime Congress was so
stingy with the armed forces that there
was little money available for that pur-
pose. The ONI and MIDAS they are
known in the Navy and War Depart
ments-were always considered the STEP
children of the services. In most cases
the officers detached to 'intelligence"
considered it as an unpleasant chore
which offered only one advantage
tour of duty in Washington-wit
many rounds of dinners and cocktails at
the foreign embassies. The attaches
abroad-with very rare exceptions-took
such assignments because of the ameni-
ties of life in foreign capitals, where as
members of an American Embassy or
Legation, they spent a pleasant, social
life
But even If the men at the head of
the intelligence departments were aware
OF their important responsibilities they
could do little to perform their real
duties. There was little money available
to be spent on important and delicate
investigations" The Army and Navy
intelligence branches had less than ST.
100000 year for this delicate work.
How little shat was can be judged from
the fact that no actual figures are avail
able from Great Britain of how much
their special branches were spending
abroad. 1t is known, however, that for