Sut,—I am unable to understand why you should consider it
disquieting that Mr. Churchill is decisively against sharing the secrets of the atctn bomb with Russia. Never in history has a nation shared the secrets of its armaments with another nation except when actively engaged as Allies against a common enemy, and Russia has not suggested, and you have not suggested, that she will reciprocate by sharing her armament secrets with us. To do so, in view of the facts disclosed by Mr. Bevin's speech, would be a worse policy than the appeasement policy pursued by Chamberlain and now condemned. It would be worse because it would be appease- ment plus the arming of a possible enemy.
Surely he is right, too, in demanding that we arm ourselves to the teeth with atom bombs, but this should be accompanied by an agreement not to use them. That was our policy with regard to gas in the last war, and it was effective. There is no reason to fear atom bombs if we face the danger fearlessly and if we pursue the development of atomic energy for industrial purposes it may prove the best chance we have ever had of ensuring that increase of production shall exceed increase of population and thus ensure prosperity for all.—Yours truly, BICICERTON PRATT. Prince of Wales Hotel, De Vere Gardens, Kensington, W.8.
Sus,—Surely the right course is to ban the atomic bomb as being (like .the gas or the plague bomb) an ethically indefensible weapon of war, and to ensure by a system of international inspection that it is not manufac- tured. Handing out match-boxes to all the children because one of them has got hold of a box is, as Lord Cherwell said, not the best way of
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