Evening star., 1947-09-12
1t Just Wants Its Own Way

The United Nations Atomic Energy Com
mission has now adopted its second report
for transmission to the Security Council.
Ten members have voted in favor Of it;
only Russia, with satellite Poland abstain
ing, has voted no. 1t has voted no, accord
ing to Andrei Gromyko, because the report
embraces an American plan aimed at let
ting the United States boss the world, win
special economic privileges, and violate
the sovereignty of big and small powers
alike.
Mr.. Gromyko has advanced this argu-
ment in bitter and almost insulting. terms.
1t is an argument ridiculous on its face,
but he has made it even more ridiculous
by complaining that the United States has
impeded all progress toward establishing
effective control of the atom. And how
have we done this? Well, as he sees the
situation, we have done it by refusing to
accept Russia's alternative proposals. But
nine other members of the Atomic Com
mission have seen eye to eye with us and
have likewise refused Does this mean any,
thing to him? OF course it does. 1t means
that everybody is out of step, everybody is
subservient Poles. In effect, as Mr.. Osborn,
our delegate to the commission, has OBJ
served, what Mr.. Gromyko really has said
is that there can be no agreement unless
every nation bows to the terms laid down
by the Kremlin. And what are those
terms? They are terms Numerically op
posed to the essentials of the plan already
adopted by the overwhelming majority.
That plan calls for an agreement that
would set up powerful international au-
thority to own, manage or otherwise
supervise any and every dangerous nu-
clear-dssion operation or facility through
out the world. Under it, moreover, there
would be a vetoless inspection system to
guard against the hazards of violations and
evasions, and there would be machinery
also vetoless-to guarantee the swift and
sure punishment of violators Finally. the
outlawry of A-weapons and the step-by
step surrender of our present temporary
advantages in the field would not precede
but would be synchronized with the effect
uation of the plan. AS opposed to this, the
Russian alternative would begin with a
treaty prohibiting A-weapons and pre-
sumably decreeing the destruction of
existing stocks. Then, with America thus
obliged to disarm itself unilaterally, the
Kremlin would be willing to commit itself
to control" arrangements without any
teeth worthy of the name-with no world
agency for ownership or management and
with the veto kept intact to cripple ade-
quate inspection and clog up the punitive
machinery. This is what Mr.. Gromyko
has been arguing for ever since the Atomic
Energy Commission began its deliberations.
1t is what has been fatty rejected by all
the other members-except the satellite
Poles, of course-for the simple reason
that it is a fraud
In sum, as Mr.. Gromyko has made
crystal-clear, effective control is not what
Russia wants. What it really wants is its
own way. Some day, possibly, it will agree
to follow the course emphatically favored
by the overwhelming majority as the only
one likely to protect mankind from the
threat of an all-engulfng catastrophe.
Meanwhile, though, whatever their objec-
tives, the men of the Kremlin obviously are
interested only in obstruction. The big
question is how long the cooperating part
of the world can safely allow itself to do
nothing about the atom merely because
the Soviet Union wants nothing done.