Evening star., 1952-04-27
Atom
StockpiIe Race Neors
Point Of No Return
By Jack Jones'

By jock Jones'
Two atomic scientists warned re-
Gently that the race to stockpile
atomic bombs was reaching the
point of no return"
Opinions about who has how many
of these destructive weapons are as
varied as the people holding them.
And the secrets of the stockpileS are
jealousy guarded. Meanwhile, the
suspense among the uninformed is
nerve-racking.
Out of the welter of conflict and
secrecy, however. these conclusions
seem firmly established:
/. The United States still is ahead
in the battle to build backlog of
A-bombs. But the Soviet Unions
stockpile is growing rapidly. Military
experts expect Russia to catch up by
1854.
2. Other nations, like Great Bri-
tain, Canada and Argentina, have
made great progress in atomic re-
search. Argentina may already be
holding tests like those in the United
States and Russia.
3. Atomic bombs-Chairman Nc
Mahon of the Joint Committee on
Atomic Energy calls them little
packages of pent-up disaster"-can
be mass produced. They may be in
mass production here now, although
this is unlikely in the light of the cur
rent budget.
4. Atomic weapons other than the
A-bomb still are far from the produc-
ton stage. Russia and the United
States are in mad scramble to be
first. There have been some expert
mental models, but most remain to be
tested.
S. Each day the race goes on brings
closer the time when controls Of
atomic weapons will be out of the
question.
BoIonce of A-Power
Estimates of the relative strength
OF the United States and the
U. S. S. R. in A-bombS are useless,
An Atomic Energy Committee spokes-
man said the picture changes so
rapidly that today's figures would be
out of date tomorrow.
Last fall. Senator Mcmahon, in a
plea for stepping up research into
atomic weapons. told startled Sem
ators that Russia then was capable
of attacking 20 or 80 cities here
with A-bombs. Last month, DR..
Ralph E. Lapp. who worked on the
wartime Manhattan Project, said in
a magazine article that this Nation s
Stockpile consisted of 1000 bombs
and RusSia's was 100. Yugoslavian
scientists set the relative strength at
600 to 100 with the United States
in the lead
The Atomic Energy Committee and
the Atomic Energy Commission are
making no estimates. This could be
because they know pretty we'll what's
going on behind the iron curtain.
At the beginning of this year, there
had been three atomic explosions
inside Russia. These were spotted
by keeping track of the atomic clouds
times following such explosions.
Russian diplomats in the United
Nations, vociferouS in their demands
for A-bomb control after the war; no
longer are interested in such control.
This indicates to some that Russia is
so far along it wants nobody taking
a look at how many bombs it has.
- 10 h0t 11ne Il l.
Russia is capable of producing atomic
weapons in great quantity and that
the Soviet has made this project one
of top priority.
Other Countries
Prime Minister Winston Churchill
had one strong reason for his visit
to the United States early this year.
He was afraid there were plans afoot
to use the A-bomb in Korea. He held
atomic talks while he was here.
When he returned, the British Par
lament debated the question of the
A-bomb and atomic weapons. In a
strong speech, Churchill said Britain
was ready to go into full-scale pro-
duction of the A-bomb.
Britain's first A-bomb will be ex-
ploded during atomic weapons tests
IN September on the tiny Montebel-
10 islands off Australia. Russia is
reported planning new A-bomb tests
in May or June. Brazil has set up an
atomic plant for nuclear energy.
DR.. Manuel Sandoval Vallarta, who
has taught at Princeton, is in charge
OF setting up Mexico's peacetime
atomic program.
A cooperative venture is under way
among several European nations. Be-
cause of limited funds. these nations
will open central atomic laboratory.
Germany is contributing $4,000;
France. $7l ,430; Italy, $4,000: the
Netherlands, $4,000. and Yugoslavia.
$4,000.
Canada was in on the ground floor
with the A-bomb. She worked with
the United States during World War
I in its development. In Argentina,
what appeared to be two atomic ex-
plosions have been witnessed near
the Chilean border. Dr. Donald
Richter, Austrian-born scientist.
heads that nations atomic research.
In the field of atomic weapons
other than the A-bomb, Senator Nc
Mahon says Russia has many more
people at work on development than
has the United States. Russia has
made A-weapons a top priority race.
Inter Service Scramble
Here, the atomic weapons race has
become a battle within a battle, as
the various services strive to obtain
such weapons.