Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1953-07-14
The President and the Atom

Judging from President Eisenhowers re-
cent preSS-conference remarks on the subject,
the American people may soon have revealed
to them lot of Still-Secret information about
the magnitude and deadlineSS of the Nations
stockpile of nuclear ornaments and about the
Soviet Unions actual and potential strength
in the same field. Although there are some
individuals who favor continuation of the
strctest kind of security restrictions, the argu-
ments on the other side are much too persua-
sive to be ignored, and it seems fairly certain
that they will be acted upon favorably in the
relatively near future.
The President, at any rate, has let it be
known that he agrees in general with the ever
growing number of distinguished experts
including members of his Committee on Inter-
national Information Activities c'psychologi-
cal warfare')-who have lately been warning
that the time has come to be less secretive
about the atom, and to relax some Of the
present restrictions, in order to promote the
defense and well-being of the United States.
To that end, they have urged that our Govern
ment release to the public information showing
Cd the approximate size, weight, shape and
destructive power Of our great variety OF nuclear
ornaments and (2) the present and prospective
status of Russia'S A-weapons stockpile-a status
we'll known to our top authorities.
OF course, such information cannot be re-
vealed to the American people without at the
same time being revealed not only to our allies
but also to the men of the Kremlin. However,
as some of our most experienced specialists
have already pointed out, the Russians almost
certainly have a very good idea Of our atomic
power; but even if they do not-which is highly
unlikely-they ought to be given an approx
innate picture of it lest they underestimate our
capacity for terrible retaliatory action against
aggression. AS for our friends abroad, the
more they know about the subject the better
we and they will be able to work together in
carrying out the joint planning that is vital
to the common defense of the free world.
But much more important than all of this,
as the experts see the situation is the need
for a far greater American aWareness OF
both our own country's atomic strength and
Russas as WELL Without such awareness, with
out properly informed public opinion, there
cannot be a genuinely enlightened, democratic
and effective basis for the formulation and
execution of either foreign or domestic policies
aimed at strengthening our national security.
For example, as long as we are told little or
nothing about the Soviet A-weapons stockpile,
our present superiority will continue to generate
a widespread feeling of wholly unwarranted
complacency. Further, by the same token, most
Oh us WILL Keep O1I UcALlS dPdG11CIAC GOWdAu
undertaking simple measures of civilian defense
that could greatly reduce casualties in the
event of an attack on our continent.
In voicing his broad agreement with these
and similar views. the President has left no
room for doubt that he wants to end secrecy
where secrecy may actually be doing more harm
than good, but he has indicated that the law
may have to be amended first Congressional
experts however-notably Chairman Cole OF
the House-Senate Atomic Committee-have de-
clared that he already has sufficient authority
to publish a great deal of the now-classified
material If he finds that to be so, then pre-
sumably he will not delay in taking the wraps
off whatever can be safely revealed In any
case, as he himself has said, the American
people need to be told more about this subject
if they are to act intelligently in uniquely
dangerous world.