Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-08-31

Several disturbing facts
have come out Of the debate
on the nuclear test-ban
treaty.
The chairman Of the Atomic
Energy Commission, Glenn
Seaborg, testified he would
like to see the treaty amended
so as to permit nuclear ex-
plosionS for peaceful pur-
poses. This recommendation
indicates that on the basis of
scientific information avail
able to the Acc, Chairman
Seaborg does not believe that
nuclear test fallout consti-
tutes a serious health haz-
ard to the worlds population.
Thus a high official Of the
Kennedy administration, and
the one whom the American
public counts on possessing
the best scientific informa-
ton on the fallout problem,
has knocked the props out
from under the panic argu-
ment for the teSt-ban treaty
to wit, that we have to
have a treaty In order to stop
the frightful poisoning of the
earth's atmosphere.
Witnesses at the Senate
hearings have called atten-
ton to a phrase in the treaty
banning any nuclear exp1o-
sion Tin the air, under water
or in outer spaced and have
voiced the fear that this
phrase would bar the use of
nuclear weapons by the Unit
ed States in repelling agrees
sion by China or some other
country, or for that matter
by Russia herself when using
conventional forces and not
nuclear weapons In perpe-
trating her aggression. In
reply to this fear, the State
Department has explained
that the phrase in question
was inserted in the treaty to
ban nuclear explosions for
peaceful purposes, since such
explosions, If permitte d,
could serve as an indirect
means for evading the pro-
hibition on tests Of a mill
tary character. The Depart
ment insists that the phrase
was not meant to ban the
use Of nuclear weapons in
actual war. Unfortunately
its own stated theory Of BAN
ing indirect evasions Of the
prohibition on the testing Of
nuclear weapons could also
be held to apply to the use
OF nuclear weapons to repel
aggression by conventional
arms.
One Of the classic ways of
testing any weapons is to
test them in actual battle.
(Hitler used this method
when he interviewed in the
Spanish Civil War and OBJ
tanned valuable information
on the performance of his
new weapons under combat
conditions.) Thus II we
should want to use nuclear
weapons in order to repel
aggression by conventional
arms, Russia could claim
(on the State Departments
own theory that we were
violating the treaty by in
dulging in an indirect form
Of nuclear weapons testing.
In a heated reply to DR..
Edward Teller's claim that
the treaty endangers Amer
lean security, President Ken
nedy reiterated the state
ment he made in his speech
on the test-ban treaty, to
wit, that what we now have
on hand, without any fur
Their testing. will kill 300
million people in one hour"
And he added: II suppose
they could even improve on
that II it's necessary" These
statements are couched in
language used by the men,
bers Of the Women Strike
for Peace and other pacifist
organizations. II they really
express the Presidents con-
victions on the subject Of
nuclear weapons, then he
should recommend that we
stop spending hundreds OF
millions In an effort to keep
ahead or even abreast in the
nuclear technology race.
On the other hand, If 1t
is important TO seek and TO
maintain a lead in the nu-
clear technology race, then
President Kennedy's state
ments must be regarded as
a sentimental distraction
from the serious business in
hand, and as betraying the
pacifist sentimentality which
inspired the negotiation Of