Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-10-29

where inspection is automatic
the explosion of large nuclear
weapons.
Moreover. this chronology
omits the fact that on Septem-
Der s, 1855, the Presidents spe-
cial assistant for disarmament
informed the United Nations Dis
armament Subcommittee that
the United States would offer nc
alternative arms control program
other than the so-called "oper
skies" formula plan originally
proposed by the Truman admin
istration. Thus no progress what
! ever has been made toward dis
armament by the Eisenhower ad-
ministration. Indeed, the Pres
ident reported to Congress on
July IS, 1855. that mo one has
been able to devise a better
plan" than the Baruch plan OF
1916.
STALLED on Dead Center"
/ We are thus stalled on dead
center by the rightly of the Eli
senhower administrations APP
proach to the problem of dis
armament.
Nevertheless. the President
remains" as he says. hopeful
that the reality of signifi-
cant disarmament will come to
pass" That hope is. of course,
shared by all Americans.
4 But no one who knwS the fact
is very hopeful that the Soviet
Union will agree to a system of
adequate on-the-Spot inspection
within the foreseeable future.
For any system of on-the-spot
inspection would require a re-
Ipudation ofthat secrecy which
in indispensable to the Commu-
mist tyranny that governs the
Soviet Union.
The President. it appears. Of
fers no solution to the disarma-
ment stalemate. For so long as
this stalemate persists, what can
we expect of the future?
With no restrictions upon the
testing Of nuclear and themo-
Inuclear weapons, the atomic
monopoly is now possessed by
three nations-the United States,
the Soviet Union, and Great
Britain.
Mr.. Stassen, President Eisen-
hower's disarmament adviser,
said five months ago that within
ia year the secret of making the
hydrogen bomb would spread all
around the world.
Once that occurs. once other
industrialized nations-such as
: France. Japan, Argentin a.
, Czechoslovakia, Eastern Ger
many, India, or even Communist
China-begin to make and ex-
plode nuclear and thermonu-
; clear bombs, the threat to peace
will be immensely multiplied
so long as the H-bomb remains
IA monopoly of the three nations
which now possess it, a con-
iltinued military stand-off may
insure a long period in which
such bombs are not used as in
Istruments Of war. But once the
possession of these bombs
spreads to other countries, which
is unlikely for technical reasons
If testing is prohibited, the dan
ger of their aggressive utiliza-
ton will have increased many
fold. When that day comes, an
irresponsible dictator. a maniac
another Hitler, might well deto-
nate the world.
7 Once the bomb is possessed by
by countries in addition to
the present three, the problem
of its control will have become
infinitely more difficult. Few
nations will willingly remain
'have not" atomic nations when
their neighbors possess the
means to destroy them. And
once the bomb is in the posses
, sion Of a number Of nations all
, wantonly shooting poison into
the atmosphere, the danger Of
impairing or destroying human
life through bomb explosions il
, enormously increased.
Results Of Halt Listed
/. With a sense of urgency i'm
] PEELED by these considerations,
proposed a halt to the tests OF
. large hydrogen weapons. Under
: that proposal, the stopping Of
these tests would have the fol-
/ lowing results:
. /. 1t would greatly delay il
: not render it impossible for any
: nation not now producing bombs
: TO make such bombs. This point
the Presidents statement wholly
ignores.
2. 1t would end or greatly di.
minish the rate of cumulative
| pollution of the atmosphere thai
is a real and present danger tC
the health Of men, women anc
: children now living-as we'll a,
future generations.
3. II would break the disarm-
ament stalemate that now exists
1t would be a concrete step to-
ward ending the arms race in
the one area where headway
can be made because We can de.
tect violations at once.
The administrators state.
ment either ignores or distort,
these propositions.
1t completely ignores the prac-
= tical certainty that if testing /!
not stopped the atomic "havt
not" nations will possess thu
! bomb within a short time. Il
denies categorically that H-bomt
testing presents perils to tn,
. health Of humanity.
1t implies that for the United
States to enter into an agree
ment for the discontinuance o.
H-bomb tests would jeopardiz'
: our superiority in these weapons
and would endanger our nationa
security.
To support its position. the ad.
ministration marshals a confu,
sion OF omissions and miSstate.