Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-05-04
Time for Its Ratification

It is difacult to understand why there
should be any American opposition to the
projected international Atomic Energy
Agency. Yet several Senators apparently
intend to fight hard against 1t now that
1t is about to be subjected to hearings
before the Foreign Relations Committee.
Some Of them apparently feel that the
statutes ratification would start an
American ''giveaway" of fashionable ma
terials. and others seem to fear that
it would somehow enable the Communist
world to get the Jump on US in the field
OF nuclear weapons.
But this Is an unjustifed, over
suspicious frame Of mind. For the IAEA,
which has been agreed upon by no fewer
than 30 nations, is an enterprise designed
exclusively to promote the peaceful uses
or the atom on realistic and carefully
supervised basis The author Of the idea
is our own country, which has been the
prime mover in the long and exhaustive
negotiations that ended successfully last
year with unanimous adoption Of the
Statute-negotiatio in which the Soviet
Union, after FIRST having taken negative
attitude, was finally persuaded to CO.
operate. No "giveaway" is involved; nor
will the agency'S operations require any
exchange OF military secrets or otherwise
help countries behind the Iron Curtain
to acquire weapons advantage over us.
Actually, once 1t begins operating,
the agency will be governed by very strict
rules and regulations. It's prime task will
be to expedite nuclear progress through
out the world-civilian progress of a kind
that will place major stress on industrial
power, agricultural Improvements, and
special undertakings aimed at lettering
human health. Accordingly, among other
things. 1t will promote the spread Of nom
military atomic knowledge and act as
bank for fashionable material to be con.
tributed by the uranium producing coun-
tries, including Russia and the United
States. This material, in turn, will be
Enthusiastically through a leasing
arrangement-to nations that can meet
elaborate standards showing that they
are fully qualified to receive and make
good use OF 1t. As for the supervisory
machinery, 1t will include a thorough
system Of continuous inspection to AFFORD
adequate protection against the diversion
Of any project into military channels.
All this should serve to reassure
those members Of the Senate who may
be hesitant about ratifying the IAEA's
statute. What needs to be kept in mind,
above all, Is that the agency, although
1t cannot be expected to accomplish over
night miracles, is full Of unique promise
Tor the whole world. Certainly, II It is
administered and supported with steady
vigor and unanimity, it can hardly fail
to bring about, slowly but surely, strik-
ing improvement in the material we'll
being OF peoples everywhere. More than
that, In larger sense, it is ideally de-
signed to foster mutual trust and inter-
national collaboration Of a kind that
could go far toward bringing about real
disarmament and a decent global peace.
It is for such reasons as these that
President Eisenhower has appealed for
early ratification Of this potentially great
undertaking. The Soviet version of par
lament has already acted afirmatively
on the matter, and since the project is
primarily the brainchild Of the United
States, our Senate should do the same
thing with as little delay as possible. To
DO otherwise, to abandon what we our
selves started, would be to commit a
kind Of infanticide that would shock
the world.