Evening star., 1947-01-28
III. S. Used Its Only A-Bombs
To ToppIe Japan Stimson Says

To 7opple Jopt
The two atomic bombs which
knocked Japan out Of the war were
the only atomic bombs the United
States had at the time. They had
to be used. There was no choice
about it.
This disclosure and conclusion
have been set forth in the February
issue of Harper's Magazine by for
mer Secretary of War Henry l.
Stimson. AS much as anybody, he
was responsible for the decision to
unleash the power of the atom
against the people of Hiroshima on
August 6, 1945.
The alternative to this use OF the
bomb, If there was one, was to force
the Japanese into a suicide stand by
invading their home islands, Mr..
Stimson said. He estimated such an
operation would have extended the
war at least into late 1916, costing
10000 American casualties ana
many times the number of japanese
lives lost In blasts at Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, which brought the empire
to its knees eight days after the first
bomb fell.
Warning Plan Discarded.
American leaders, Mr.. Stimson
said, considered trying to persuade
Japan to capitulate before the bomb
was used by issuing a detailed warn
ing as to what the Japanese could
expect if they did not capitulate.
This idea was discarded because,
despite the static test in New Mex
leo, there was no real assurance the
bomb could be dropped effectively
from an airplane, hes explained.
Nothing would have been more
damaging to our effort to obtain
surrender than a warning fol-
lowed by a dud-and this was a real
possibility" Mr.. Stimson said.
United States officials, he added,
also rejected a proposal that the
Americans should show the jap
anese the terrible power of their new
weapon by dropping it first in some
uninhabited Japanese area. Here
again, the danger was that the
demonstration might not succeed.
Furthermore, said the former
Secretary. 1--WE had no bombs to
waste. & " {" The two atomic bombs
we dropped were the only ones
we had ready, and our rate of pro-
duction at the time was very small.
Article Approved.
But he added: $50 far as the jap
anese could know, our ability to ex-
ecute atomic attacks, if necessary
by many planes at a time, was un-
limited.
A White House spokesman said
today President Truman knew OF
Mr.. Stimson's article and approved
of it. A statement Of the Presi-
dents that "the Japanese were
given fair warning" before the
bombs were dropped was published
in the Atlantic Monthly yesterday.
This statement referred to the gen.
eral warning of impending destruc-
ton issued to the japanese at the
Potsdam Conference, the spokesman
said. It did not mean, he added,
that the japanese had been warned
specifically about the atomic bomb.
Mr.. Stimson's account of the de-
cisian to use the bomb showed that
American officials were acutely
aware, even before they had the
weapon in their hands, Of the pro-
found effect it would have on the
world, and Of the necessity for con-
trolling it internationally.
The article also showed there was
never any question among members
of the Government that the bomb
should be used.
Responsible for Recommendation.
Finally, it indicated the deep sense
of responsibility that went with the
fateful decision to use the bomb.
"The ultimate responsibility for
the recommendation to the Presl-
dent rested upon me, and I have no
desire to veil It," Mr.. Stimson said.
He added:
my chief purpose was to end the
war in victory with the least pos
sible cost in the lives of the men in
the armies which I had helped to
raise. In the light Of the alter
natives which were open to
us, I believe that no man hold
ing in his hands q weapon OF such
possibilities for accomplishing this
purpose and saving those lives could
have failed to use it and afterward
look his countrymen in the face"
Mr.. Stimson continued:
'The decision to use the atomic
bomb was q decision that brought
death to over a hundred thousand
Japanese. No explanation can
change that fact, and do not wish
to gloss 1t over. But this deliberate,
premeditated destruction was our
least abhorrent choice. The de-
struction of Hiroshima and Nagasak
put an end to the Japanese war. It
stopped the fire raids and the
strangling blockade; 1t ended the
ghastly specter Of clash of great
land armies"
Planned to Invade November 1.
The belief that such clash would
result If the bomb were not used
was the principle reason for the de-
cision to use the bomb, Mr.. Stimson
indicated.
In July, 1s45, he said, Japan had
an army of about 100000 men.
Our battle plan, Mr.. Stimson said,
prepared without regard to the
atomic bomb, called for invasion OF
the home islands in two stages-in
the south on November 1, 1945, and
on the main island In the spring
of 1916. We also would have used
about 5000, 900 men, he said.
In q memorandum to President
Truman on July 2, Mr.. Stimson pre-
dicted that, If an invasion OF Japan
were once started, it would develop
"fanatical resistance" in the Japa-
nese and precipitate a bitter finish
fight. He urged the necessity Of