DIVERGENT VIEWS ON ATOMIC CONTROL

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5281, 18 December 1946, Page 7

DIVERGENT VIEWS ON ATOMIC CONTROL

PRORLEM OF DISTRLBUTION OF FISSIONABLE MATERIALS. NEW YORK. The British Government has some c differences with the United States Government on atomie maters, ibut there is no difference of opinion as to the form of eontrol which should be exercised over atomic energy developmen't, writes Randolph Churchill. - The British Government is giving as solid su-pport as is the United States Government to the plan for international eontrol iof (nuclear energy, which was presented by President Tr-uman's representative, Mr. Bernard Barpch, before the United' Nations Atomic" Energy Commission. The matters in dispute between Britain and the United States concern exchangje of inforimatilon on atomic reseai-ch and also distribution of fissionable material. In this matter the United States Government is in a position of some delicacy. Althou^h the agreement to share information was in very general terms, it is perfeetly clear that there was an undertaking. But the Americans are most reluctant to carry it out. Minor Leakage. „ Some minor secfrets have already leaked from Canada to Moscow. Also at the time of the fall of, France, the* ' leading French atomic scientists es- ' caped to England -with much valuable ' equipment and *placed all of it at the ! disposal of the British Government. ' j The Americans now ibelieve that there is an understanding between the English and the French -by which the British must hand on to the French any information they may acquire. The United States State Department takes the view that any information reaching the French Government is automatically bound to be passed on to Moscow. In these circumstances it is very easy to understand the American re-1-uctance to impart any more information. We must all hope that an effective international plan will be adopted whereby atomic energy can be con.trollecl and' all danger of the use of the atomic bomb can be excluded. Butxintil such an agreement is achieved it is far better that as few people as possible should penetrate into these grisly secrets. .Everybody knows that the United States would never use the bomb exeept in self-defence or in the cause of world freedom. Pending a world agreement the American monopoly is ihe best possible arrangement.