Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-03-30
BY EARL H. VOSS
Star stan Writer

Americas position on nuclear
weapons testing is up for revision
again and the horizon is dotted
with proposals. Six of them have
been under examination by the
administration In recent weeks.
The only safe thing to be said
about prospects at this point is
that American, and presumably
NATO. policies on nuclear disarm-
ament almost certainly will be
modified before new arms limita-
ton negotiations with the Soviet
Union are undertaken.
The value of q new look" for
the Vests nuclear disarmament
policy Is obvious. The Kremlin
has made hay around the world
with its uncomplicated demand
for a suspension Of all nuclear
weapons tests under control Of
international ground inspection.
The United States more COM
pick position, seconded by NATO,
insists that tests be suspended
only if Russia agrees at the same
time to set a date for ending
nuclear weapons production.
There has been q revival Of talk
that the administration Is pre-
pared to sever the link between
testing and production. But ON
Gals who ought to know say the
talk is premature.
Last week President Eisen-
hover gave encouragement to
both the link and no-link theories.
It would be "unwise," he said. to
take q perfectly rigid position"
on any agreement If it could be
considered a reliable one and Of
fered possibilities for wider nego-
tiation. That seemed to point
toward breaking the link.
But he opened another line Of
speculation. re invited a United
Nations radiation commission.
which has Soviet and Czech men,
bers, to observe the low level Of
fallout produced by American nu-
clear explosions at Eniwetok next
month. This could well be the
prelude to some other American
proposal to limit rather than sus-
pend nuclear tests.
And there are powerful elements
in the Government, notably In the
Pentagon and the Atomic Energy
Commission, who would prefer a
limitation to'a total suspension.
Two Bosic Observations
Before getting into a study Of
the six leading proposals on test
suspension, two general observa-
tons should be made:
. A naked" suspension Of nu-
clear weapon tests will have no
armS-limiting effect and will not
reduce the present frightful dam
ger Of nuclear destruction one bit.
Both sides stockpiles and delivery
capabilities will remain intact.
. The main Western aim In &C.
cepting a test ban unlinked to a
production cutoff would be to open
the Soviet Union to limited in
spection-in the hope that further,
more detailed inspection could fol-
low once confidence In the system
was established.
Here, then, are possibilities for
modifying the present Western
position on nuclear test suspen-
sion:
AcrOss-the-bOard ban. Ru-
l." mors circulated in Washing
ton and other world capitals last
week that the Soviet Union is
ready to announce q unilateral
ban on testing. without inspec-
ton, however, the administration
would regard this as unreliable,
principally a propaganda maneuver
and probably intended to forestall
inspection. An East-West agree
ment to ban testing would retard
If not stop nuclear-weapons de-
velopment. 1t would provide for
ground inspection In the USSR.
But it also could increase the risk
that free societies would let down
their guard prematurely.
= End all explosions that are
As detachable. This is a Japa-
nese proposal, advanced by M.
Taketani, q Tokyo professor Of
physics who has led his country's
test-ban thinking. Presumably