Evening star., 1949-11-11
The Atomic Drift

lock, PRESIDENT ROmulO OF the United
Nations General Assembly has spoken out
eloquently against the grave and mount
ing menace implicit In the constantly
accelerating nuclear armaments race I'm
fortunately, however, though they sare
well intentioned, the proposals he has
made In connection with that race seem
altogether inadequate and unrealistic
AS submitted to the permanent members
OF the U. N. Atomic Energy Commission
(China, France, Britain, Russia, Canada
and the United States), the proposals sug-
gest, among other things, Q) the possibility
of declaring 4 "short-term" truce and
setting up kind of stopgap inspection
system in the field Of A-weapons; (O the
possibility Of ian interim prohibition" on
the use OF such weapons; and 60 the
possibility of further compromises" be-
tween the control plan overwhelmingly
approved by the United Nation and the
plan" offered by the Soviet Upon.
Possibly there would be some merit In
these suggestions II the world were not
the kind Of world it 1t. Actually, however,
II there were no Iron Curtain, II there
were no cold war, II Russia were democ-
racy, II the Krenlin were cooperative, If
1t were not bent on dominating the globe,
II 1t lived up to its pledges, If its record
were one In which mankind could place
trust and confidence, the Romulo proposals
would be quite unnecessary. For If the
Soviet Union were all the good things that
1t is not, instead of being what 1t is, q
genuinely effective system OF atomic con-
troll probably would be in the process of
formation right now.
After all, the blueprint for such system
has already been drafted. More than three
years of exhaustive study and debate have
been devoted to 1t. And virtually every
member Of the United Nations has voted
for It, the only dissenters being the Soviet
Union and its little bloc of servile satellites.
In other words, the overwhelming majority
OF mankind has placed itself solidly behind
atomic control that will really control.
But the Kremlin will have no part of 1t.
All 1t wants is an arrangement that would
outlaw A-weapons and oblige us to destroy
our stockpile without giving us and the
rest OF the world any real guarantee
against the danger that 1t would continue
to produce nuclear ornaments behind the
Iron Curtain. In short, in exchange for
our disarming ourselves unilaterally. It
would offer us only its word, plus make
shift inspection setup which 1t could cir
cumvent with ease.
In the light of these facts, President
Romulo's proposals are self-evidently of
little value, except to the extent that they
emphasize how far apart Russia is from
the vast majority of nations. In his
opinion, the reiteration of the two different
poSitions-Russias and the majority's-
has kept US turning in the same circle
Tor three years." and he warns that the
world must break that circle or drift to-
ward catastrophe. But how can the world
break 1t as long as the Kremlin insists
on playing = threatening lone-wolf role?
Certainly not by further compromises"
OF sort that would provide no security.
Indeed, In his latest nre.breathing speech
on the subject, Soviet Foreign Minister
Vishinsky has served all but final notice
That his government is irrevocably re-
solved never to compromise.
Yet the grim truth is that we will not get
out OF the circle unless and until there
".
summed up by Sir Alexander Cadogan.
British delegate to the U. NJ, that policy
today-because of its stubborn refusal to
accept real control-holds out over the
world the intolerable threat of an atomic
war. The threat is real, and the terrible
thing about 1t is that 1t will keep on
growing from week to week, and from
month to month, as the Soviet stockpile
increases along with ours.
That Is fact that will become more
nerve-racking IS time goes on-the fact
that stockpiles Of A-weapons exist on both
sides OF the Iron Curtain. Possibly. be-
cause OF their retaliatory implications, the
weapons may never be used. On the other
hand, given total war, they may obliterate
what we fondly describe as civilization.
What makes the situation seem doubly
bleak Is the Kremlin's apparent determine
ton to let 1t drift on in 4 way that
makes proposals like President Ronulo's
look almost naive.