Evening star., 1950-02-06
Morals, War and H-Bombs


sincerity, the anxious earnestness and the
great scientific ability of the twelve Ameri-
can physicists who have urged the United
States Government to make a solemn
declaration to the world that this Nation
will never use the hydrogen bomb in war
fare unless an enemy first uses it against
either us or our allies.
Led by Professor Hans A. Bethe of Cornell
University, this group is made up of men
who are e-eminently expert in the field
OF nuclear energy. They have played a
leading role in the development of A
weapons, and they undoubtedly will play
leading role again--and haye announced
themselves ready to play tin the develop
ment of the projected H-bomb, far more
dreadful thing whose evil potentialities
encompass nothing less than the virtual
extinction of human life on this jittery
and bewildered planet.
Accordingly, because they know so much
about the science involved, these men can
enviSion better than most of us the night
mare of exploding and radioactivating
horrors inherent in weapon which they
say can be more than 1000 times (not
merely ten times or 100 tines as devas-
tating as the preternaturally destructive
A-bomb. Their views on the subject are
therefore deserving of the most careful
and Somber consideration. To ignore them
would be stupidity of the worst kinda
deaf, dumb, blind and inordinately reck-
less brushing aside of a warning that has
come from uniquely well-informed special
iStS uh OF 1,nir
handiwork, seen in it the makings of a
bottomless pit like hell, and felt impelled
by their own fears to plead vehemently
with mankind to control the thing lest it
destroy every last one of us in an abomina-
ton of desolation.
Yet, granting all that, there is reason to
question whether these men are right when
they propose that the United States should
promise never to use the H-bomb unless
and until somebody else hits us or our
allies with it. They base this idea on
grounds of morality, but one must ask
whether modern war-total war, war with
out quarter-can be discussed in terms
of morality. Is nation more moral when
it uses fire bombS-day after day, week
after week-to incinerate whole cities in
process of slow-motion torture? Is it
more moral, or more merciful, in doing
that than in infiicting instantaneous mass
destruction with atomic super-killers? Here
is subject for the theologians. Maybe
they and the twelve scientists are agreed,
but the average layman, as person who
would be vaporized or incinerated along
with the scientists and the theologians,
can hardly escape the feeling that armed
conflict in these days is so indistinguish-
able from suicidal insanity that the issue
of morals seems rather academic and
superfiuous.
Further, from the standpoint of practical
world politics and military strategy, it must
be asked whether the twelve scientists
have really given full thought to the i'm
plications of their proposal. Have they
considered how potential enemy Oet us
be frank and say Russia) could profit from
it? Have they considered how things
might work out if the United States
assuming the outbreak of war-were COM
mitted to the idea of not using the H-bomb
until either we or our allies were devas-
tated by It? Has it not occurred to them
that it might be unrealistic in the extreme
for us to serve notice in advance that we
would not retaliate in kind until all of
Western Europe or all of our Eastern Sea-
board cities dncluding Washington were
obliterated by sudden downpour of
hydrogen weapons?
In effect, what the scientists suggest
in the hope that the threat of swift and
massive retaliation would deter the aggres-
sor-is that this Nation, in case of war,
should withhold its full power until scores
of millions of its citizens were wiped out
Have they thought this through? Are they
genuinely convinced that it makes sense?
Or have they let their emotions get the
better of their heads? To ask such ques-
tions is not to say that these men are
necessarily wrong. 1t is merely to say that
when it comes to the political and military
realities, they are not quite willing to face
the grim facts. After all, our potential
enemies do not have to worry about being
hit by sneak H-bomb attack from Amer
ica Our system of government makes that
impossible, but the Soviet system does not
give us anything like the same assurance
Actually, in the last analysis, the only
thing that adds up to sense in this day
and age is the establishment of truly
permanent peace absolutely outlawing and
controlling all super-weapons. Short of
that, the madness of modern war-in which
morality can scarcely be detected-is not
likely to be made less mad, or less obliterat-
ing, by proposals such as that of DR.. Bethe
and his colleagues