Evening star., 1954-04-25
To Make 1t Mans Servant

In his address to the Los Angeles World
Affairs Council, Chairman Lewis L. Strauss of
the Atomic Energy Commission has made clear
that the United States is now ready to get down
to brass-tackS action on President Eisenhowers
proposal to prevent war and promote global
progress through an unprecedented interna-
tional cooperative effort to harness the atom
for peaceful purposes.
The PROPOSAL, as set forth in the Presi-
dents historic speech to the United Nations
last December 8, calls for the creation-under
the aegis Of the U. N.-of world bank or pool
to which the governments principally con-
cerned would make continuing joint contribu-
tions of normal uranium and fashionable ma
terialS. These materials, in turn, would be used
to bring into being developments calculated to
exploit the atoms latent power to become not
the master and destroyer of man. but his serv-
ant-a servant capable of doing great things
in the fields Of medicine biology agriculture,
industrial power, and basic research aimed at
opening up new areas of fundamental knowl-
edge.
At the time OF It's presentation to the u NJ,
this project may have seemed to some observers
to be rather vague and visionary, if not merely
an empty propaganda maneuver in the cold war.
Mr.. Strauss, however, has effectively cleared the
air Of all such misconceptions. He has done so
by declaring that the whole idea-which has
been the subject of detailed discussions in a
series of private conversations with the Soviet
Union and certain friendly governments
been formulated into concrete plan for prac-
tical application at an early date. Further
than that, the plan-which has been in the
Kremlin's hands for the past months so
specific and promising that the President has
decided to back it up by arranging for the con-
vocation of an international conference of
scientists later this year. The purpose of the
conference will be to explore and speed up the
benign and peaceful uses" of nuclear energy
and the hope Is, as Mr.. Strauss has said that
the gathering-the first of it's kind in history
will be attended by outstanding experts from
all over the world, including particularly Rus
sian experts.
In view of the Kremlin's past and present
nay-saying in the field of atomic control, Soviet
participation in the projected conference may
seem to be unlikely. Yet Mr.. Strauss has en-
phasized fact that may we'll persuade the
Russians to cooperate fully in the Presidents
plan. The fact is simply this: That the plan
can be put into effect without requiring either
them or us or anybody else to disarm, or to dis
close A-weapons secrets, or to submit to regu-
lations impinging on sovereignty. or otherwise
to place "trust where yesterday trust could not
be reposed." Accordingly, it is quite possible
that the Malenkov regime will join in the enter
prise, and If it does, then mankind will have
reason to hope that truly great and beneficial
developments will eventually come from nuclear
energy.
Beyond that, given such cooperation,
good first step will have been made toward
laying the groundwork for an agreement to
keep America and Russia from becoming-as
the President said on December S-"two atomic
colossi doomed malevolently to eye each other
indefinitely across trembling world" Mr..
Strauss has left no room for doubt that our
country is utterly sincere in its efforts to head
of that kind OF situation, and it is up to the
Kremlin now to respond tn similar spirit.