Evening star., 1962-04-11
u. ). Pushes
NucIear Tests
ForLateApriI
Russian Rejection
Of Final Appeal
Is Anticipated
BY EARL H. VOSS
Star Staff Writer

The administration went
ahead today with plans to re-
sumo atmospheric testing Of
nuclear weapons in the Pacific
the last week in April. prefer
ably some time between the 23d
and 26th.
Many variables, including the
weather, preclude setting a
definite date SO far in advance.
The hope is, however, that at
least the first shot will have
been fired before April 81, when
British Prime Minister Mac
milan will be in Washington.
This will spare the British
leader further pressures to
withhold Western testing from
pacifiSt elements in his coun-
try.
Mr.. Macmillan and President
Kennedy, on Monday, sent So
Wet Premier Khrushchev a
last chance" plea to sign an
effectively inspected test ban
treaty. The expected rejection
has been forecast in the Soviet
press.
Greater Pressure
Mr.. Macmillan told the
House of Commons in London
yesterday that he will go on
pressing for East-West agree
ment on a test ban Ito the last
possible moment" Mr.. Mac
milan is under much greater
home front political pressur,
than President Kennedy to con
tinue demonstrating the desirO
to put an end to all tests.
Mr.. Macmillan has sent
new personal message to MI
Khrushchev making a direc
appeal for a modification o.
Soviet policy with the argument
that the purpose of inspection
"iS not to increase suspicion but
to dispell it,"
He thus sought to overcome
the Soviet contention that the
Western powers want to put in
ternational inspection teams on
Soviet territory for purposes of
espionage.
Whether the first American
test in the atmosphere will be a
high altitude shot was reported
still to be indefinite. One of
the main purposes of the at
mospheric series is to explore
effects of high-altitude nuclear
explosions on radar. communi-
cations and incoming nuclear
missiles.
Spectacular Shows
High-altitude shots are likely
to present a spectacular show
for surface observers, even if
there is cloud cover. Auroras
from past high-altitude shots
by the United States over john
son Island could be seen as far
away as the Hawaiian Islands,
and there was some fear of
causing blindness if observers
tried to view the shots without
proper protection for their eyes.
If weather or other factors
were to postpone a high
altitude shot, however, it would
be likely that President Ken
nedy would proceed with some
other atmospheric tests for
political reasons-to avoid leav-
ing any impression of United
States hesitation in following
through on his promise to re-
sumo in the absence of a Soviet
change of attitude towards a
test ban.
The 12,000-man Joint task
force staging the test series is
reported to be planning 80 to
40 shots over a two-month
period.
For political reason again,
the tests are to be compressed
into as short a period as pos
Sible.
U. S. Still Sensitive
The United States is still
sensitive to world misgivings
about atmospheric tests, de-
spite the Unexpectedly mild re-
action to the Soviet Unions
atmospheric series of more
than 40 huge blasts last Sep
tember and October.
Some officials link world re-
action to the American test
series to the prospects for an
East-WeSt summit conference
later this year.
The greater the clamor
against American testing, ac-
cording to this theory, the
greater the pressure on Presi-
dent Kennedy to meet again
with Soviet Premier Khru-
shchev to make another try at
arreSting the arms race.