Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1946-06-14

OPeHIHg OeS'
piles, that the matter of punishment
lies at the very heart of our present
security system. 1t might as vel
be admitted. here and now, that the
subject goes straight to the veto
power contained in the Charter O
the United Nations so far as it re.
iates to the field of atomic energy
The Charter permits penalizatior
only by concurrence of each OF thu
five great powers-Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics, the Unitee
Kingdom, China, France and the
United States.
I want to make this very plair
that / am concerned here with the
veto power only as it affects this
particular problem There must be
no veto to protect those who violate
their solemn agreements not to de.
velop or use atomic energy for de.
structive purposes.
The bomb does not wait upor
debate. To delay may be to die
The time between violation ane
preventive action or punishment,
would be all too short for extended
discussion as to the course to be
followed.
AS matters now stand. severa.
years may be necessary for another
country to produce a bomb, de novo
However, once the basic informa
ton is generally known. and the
authority has established producing
plants for peaceful purposes in the
several countries, an illegal seizure
Of such plant might permit q
malevolent nation to produce q
bomb in II months, and If preceded
by secret preparation and necessary
facilities perhaps even in a much
shorter time.
Speed on Penalties Vital.
The time required-the advance
warning given of the possible USE
of bomb-can only be generally
estimated but obviously will depend
upon many factors, including the
success with which the authority
has been able to introduce elements
OF safety in the design of its plants
and the degree to which illegal and
secret preparation for the military
use of atomic energy will have been
eliminated. Presumably no nation
would think Of starting war with
only one bomb.
This shows how imperative speed
is in detecting and penalizing vio-
lations.
The process Of prevention and
penalization-a problem of profound
statecraft is, as read it, implicit in
the Moscow statement, signed by the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics,
the United States and the United
Kingdom a few months ago.
But before a country Is ready to
relinquish any winning weapons, it
must have more than words to re-
assure it. 1t must have guaran-
tee of safety. not only against the
offenders in the atomic area, but
against the illegal users of other
Observation-Disclosures, biological,
- why not? - against
war itself.
In the elimination of war lies our
solution, for only then will nations
cease to compete with one another
in the production and use of dread
secret" weapons which are evalu-
ated solely by their capacity to kill.
This devilish program takes us back
not merely to the dark ages, but
from cosmos to chaos. If we sue
coed in finding a suitable way to
control atomic weapons, it is rea-
sonsble to hope that we may also
preclude the use of other weapons
adaptable to mass destruction. When
a man learns to say "a" he can. if
he chooses, learn the rest of the
alphabet, too.
Face Problem of Ethics.
Let this be anchored in our minds
Peace is never long preserved by
weight of metal or by an armament
race. Peace can be made tranquil
and secure only by understanding
an agreement fortified by sanctions.
We must embrace international CO.
operation or international disin-
tegratlon.
Sciene has taught us how to put
the atom to work. But to make
it work for good instead of for
evil lies in the domain dealing with
the principles of human duty. We
are now facing a problem more OF
ethics than of physics.
The solution will require appar-
ent sacrifice in pride and in posi-
ton. but better pain as the price Of
peace than death as the price of
war.
I now submit the following meas
ures as representing the fundamen-
tai features of a plan which would
give effect to certain of the con-
illusions which I have epitomized.
Thorough Control Plan.
I. General-The authority should
set up a thorough plan for control
Of the field of atomic energy
through various forms of owner
ship, dominion, licenses, operation
inspection, research and manage.
ment by competent personnel
After this is provided for, there
should pe as little interference al
may be with the economic plans
and the present private. corporate
and state relationships in the sew
eral countries involved.
2. Raw materials-the authority
should have as one of its earliest
purposes to obtain and maintain
complete and accurate information
on world supplies of uranium and
thorium and to bring them under
it's domination. The precise pat
tern of control for various types of
deposits of such materials will have