U.S. & THE WORLD: Awful Responsibility

U.S. & THE WORLD

Said the President of the U.S.:

“I realize the tragic significance of the atomic bomb.

“Its production and its use were not lightly undertaken by this Government. But we knew that our enemies were on the search for it. We know now how close they were to finding it. And we knew the disaster which would come to this nation, and to all peaceful nations, to all civilizations, if they had found it first.

“That is why we felt compelled to undertake the long and uncertain and costly labor of discovery and production. We won the race of discovery. . . .

“The atomic bomb is too dangerous to be loose in a lawless world. That is why Great Britain, Canada and the United States, who have the secret of its production, do not intend to reveal that secret until means have been found to control the bomb so as to protect ourselves and the rest of the world from the danger of total destruction. . . .

“We must constitute ourselves trustees of this new force—to prevent its misuse, and to turn it into the channels of service to mankind.

“It is an awful responsibility which has come to us.

“We thank God that it has come to us, instead of to our enemies; and we pray that He may guide us to use it in His ways and for His purposes.”