Evening star., 1950-02-05
The DOG in the Munqer

senator McMahOn, chairman OF the
Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic
Energy, has given eloquent voice to some
decidedly somber and challenging views on
the hydrogen bomb and it's significance in
terms of the continuing life-or sudden
death-of man everywhere.
The world today, in Mr.. McMahon's
words, is at point where it must choose
between two broad policies. The first of
these is to continue the present nuclear
armamentS race at an ever-accelerating
rate. The second is to move heaven and
earth to stop that race and harness the
atom for great and enduring peace in
which all peoples will be able to attain a
decent standard of living
Under the first course, the world can
achieve nothing but a steadily increasing
measure of collective inSecurity-a situa-
tion that can force free lands like the
United States to drift toward totalitarian-
ism, that can make mutual fear fatten
on itself to the point of panic, and that
can lead eventually to a no-quarter war
in which A-weapons and H-weapons would
combine to vaporize or incinerate most
of the cities and citizenry of all the bel
ligerent nations and their neighbors Such
war-capable of wiping out within
matter of minutes scores of millions of
Americans or an equal number of Russians
or Western Europeans-wouldb be likely to
be short, but it still would be long enough
to effect the virtual annihilation of civili-
cation.
The choice between this dread prospect
and the prospect of peaceful world rising
to new submits of achievement has
already been made by the overwhelming
majority of peoples and governments. It
has been made in the United Nations, in
the vote supporting the American-spon-
sored plan for the rigid international con-
troll of atomic energy. But there has been
dog in the manger, fly in the ointment,
an obdurate nay-sayer blighting mankinds
best and dearest hopes This has been the
Soviet Union. Together with their handful
of cowed satellites, the Russians have
blocked every effort to end the A-weapons
race, and they have carried on a ceaseless
barrage OF vile propaganda libeling and
vilifying all those striving to end it. In
short, far from cooperating, they have
made clear that they are out to sabotage
peace and arm themselves thoroughly with
the atom, including undoubtedly the hy-
drogen bomb.
In spite of all this, Mr. Mcmahon re-
fuses to abandon hope entirely. Although
fully aware of the realities, and empha-
sizing that we must do everything to
achieve weapon supremacy, he proposes
that we initiate a kind of eleventh-hour
moral crusade for peace" In effect,
among other things, his idea calls for
pumping tremendous new strength into
the Voice of America in order to change it's
present whisper into shout powerful and
persuasive enough to pierce the Iron Cur
tain and reach the hearts and minds of
the vast segment of humanity being kept
in ignorance and slavery by the Soviet
tyranny. Further, to make the crusade
especially appealing, he would have the
United States offer to finance a $50 000.-
100000 f1ve-year program of economic aid
to countries abroad, including Russia, the
offer being conditioned on universal
acceptance of effective atomic control and
on foolproof agreement by all nations to
cut their defense expenditures by two
thirds.
Mr.. Mcmahon, of course is not naive.
AS well as any American, he knows that
Russla's dog in the : manger attitude
makes such spectacular proposal seem
highly unrealistic. Still there may be merit
IN 1t as possible weapon in the propa-
ganda war now being waged for mems
minds That we need to take the offensive
In that war can hardly be doubted. Some
how, despite the Kremlin, we must get the
truth in behind the Iron Curtain. other
wise, with their subjects too uninformed to
restrain them in any measure, the tyrants
who rule there may one day plunge man
kind into unimaginable horrors.