•This is not an official transcript Under White House rules the President must not be quoted iirectl Y 'f herefore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 0 1 401 0 5 rsh l lsmJ PRE lIDENT EISEIUIOlIBR 1 S FRE S AND RADIO CONFEREMCE HOo 33 ACCOMPANIED BY ADliiIRriL rnwrn L S'I'RJ USS CH URMAN 1 TOMIC ENr 11GY cmmrssION In Attendance 235 474 Executive Office Bldg Uosbington D C Ucdncsday r larch 31 195 1 10 30 o 1 clock a m noom THE PRESIDENT As you can riuspect ladies and gentlemen from the picture-taking tM s morning we are trying a U ttle bit of on innovation There haR beon some rJJ J ght interest Hhown J n the tents LU _J recently conducted in the Pacific and for this reoson I m t J brouglJt along with me thi morning the e cpert 1n that n eld and after I take a ce 'tain share of the prcf' s conference 0 0 time I am goinG to turn the rest of it over to him and of I- C course this nill also give me a unique privilege of aeeing someone else in this particular spot Laughter One of the things that I should like to taken to talk about 1a the excise taxes • Q r 1' Ill to 1-4 r i Hot1 the e cise ta oa of cour e have i•educed a very con 1derable amount more than I recommended less from the beginning 1t 1aq Neverthe- ackno 1ledged that here was f l a field that v1os op n to dirJCl l HJ 'i on 'l'here 1 s one scho l of l U CD This is not 'ln official transcript Under White House rules the President must not be quoted a' irectly ' Ther fore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made ol it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 't dl'lm2 thought that believes that cutting or excj_fle tm es cnn have such a great effect in stimulat tng of ' bus tneirn that U1e 2 lO revenueA 1111 not be hur·i as much an fl ' ·-·---1• - - -' i1e es Li ms c l ' t This ls not an official transcript Under White House rules the President must not be quoted airectly 1 Therefore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited t irsh 3 01 2 'ls dsm In any event the bill as it does continuing certain noedr d excise taxes on b0yond P pi -11 lsi that J s tomo1 ro-u 1s going to be signed -- I will sign it today -- and certainly I accept it uboleheartedly and we nre certainly hopeful that the results any damaging resuJ t1 will not be as great as might be I should 11 ke to call attenUon to th 1 s one fact On figures furoishod to me by the Treasury tbis will be the grea' est oingle tn c reduction in dollars ever accompliohed b-y tho American Government $7 400 000 000 taken off the -reduced in one ear in te Jtes 3 '11bis includes of course• reduction in incor ic taJ es of Jannary lat the abolition or the excess profito ta and this excise tax but that t-1 ll be a huge emount of mo110y in the hands of private citizens to spend themselves and certainly we he ve every reason t o believe the t it will be a stimulating factor in our econom I Another point to discuss just briefly is housing N'ow there baa been a lot of dU'ferent kinds of thinking on public housing and I think most of you are aware of the general provisions or the plan that I submitted to the Congreaa some couple of mouthe l go and I am informed that Mr Wolcott's ----·- This is not an official transcript Under White House rules the President must not be quoted airectiy ' Tber fore thia transcript must be paraphrased before any use ia made of it Verbatim duplication for di • tribution prohibited committee is bringing out that program largely in tbs same 3 02 form as presented to him Now in the public housing factor there has been a very considerable struggle but I am delighted that yesterdny the leadership succeeded in getting the necessary appropriations so that approximstely 35 000 public housing units can be constructed this year and the authorization will certninls be accorded to go for a lilce amount or som' lthin g or tht t 1 I''d9 ' next year in the authorization committee Oh the other item that I wanted to mention u is the Randall report and my Message to Congress on foi eign I thin the report nd the Message largely speak f 'OI' themselves but I do want to make this one observation In making this kind of an adjustment in trying to move fPom an era in which our friends abroad had to depend so markedly on direct aid into an ora whera expanded trade will be of benef1 t Q' to all of us certain difficulties even certain hardships E t' rn • 1-4 le ill ti Q ill I 0 I can occur not only in our country but in others D This is not an official transcript Under White House rules the Preaident must not be quoted cHrectly 1 Therefore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 5 4 1 - The Government is alert to tl1at ri ltuation will comitantly be vig llant to sec tlt t any dm•lc' ' ' o i hnt rind docs not become one that is unjur-Jt1fied au yon think of the 111elfar-e of the 160 million people and will take such steps es are n ecesAary to prev mt trwm fr om becom5 ng el ther ·ij_despreaa m s0 cr2 but thnt there uill be somf adjur tment of that kind is of rourse inevitable I do believe that Ln this dey and time• the free m 'ld must come more and more to rcal tze thc' t in an e p8nc J ·1g heal thy 'ct10-1 ay trade lies our beet lnsurance that the doctrines of Jtatcism cannot come 111 and overcome om · 1hole idea of free government N'oH within our o m connt y ue don't feel that danger o intimately the danger in other words is not in position let U8 Aay of breathing down our neckn but in some of the others it ia ancl we have got to take aJ J of those things into con ' 11derat1on af we stand firmly for a principle which in the long run ls for th0 good of ell of us and it is going to tRlce very great firmness because as I say there are going to besom maladjustments and difficulties Now that a my speoch for tho morning ladies and l This is not an official transcript Under White House rules the President must not be quoted · l' irectly ' Ther fore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 6 dsm2 gentlemen and the rest of my time that I have allocated to myself I will take up t'li th gues tions Merriman Smith United Press Q Nr President I t1onder if you could explore for us sir or amplify on SecrotRry Dulles I speech the other night in 11hich he spoke of our readiness to take united action in the Far East THE PRESIDEHT Well of course the speech mmit stand by its elf and I should say that I uas over every 110rd of 1 t beforehand ect etary Dulles and I as w iually find our 'lelves in complete agreement Now I have forgotten the er act 1ords but i1hat that he used 1n respect to the question you raised but he did point out that it is 1n united action of all natiol s an a peoples and countries affected in that region that we can successfully oppose the encroachment of communism and should be prepared to meet any kind of attack that trnuld come in the 'e because he pointed out the great value of the region to all the free world and what its loss would mean to uR So I think aside from just the assertion that He are seeking that lc1nd of united ac t1on among all our friends that the speech otherwise must stand by ttself - ---· --- ---- - •· •This is not an official transcript Under White H iuse rules the President must not he quoted tirectly ' Therefore this transcript must he paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 7 rsh Q Martin Agronslcy Jimerlcan Broadcasting Company Mr • 1 6 s dsm Presidont I wondered if I could ask one more specific question along those lines 'rlrn uni r 0d act1 on has boen l lterpretod generally as indlcat l n parhaps interrention d5 r•ect inter- vention or direct use lll H'e accurP tely of America · roops Can rou COlil 11 nt 0 1 tba t --- 1r THE PRESIDENT Il6'CEli 9D r y fell I ha v0 mid time and again that I can conce tvo of no grouter dlsadvantag9 to Amer· tcn tllan to be employing i'cs own ground forces and any other kind of rorces in gr·e t numbers around the uorld maet ng each li·ttle tion B3 it arises What we aro trying to do is to make our friends strong '3nouGh to take care of J ocal si tua t 1 ons by tbemsol veu with l 4 · c the financial the moral the political and csrtalnl-y only CQ M where ou1° own vital interests demanded any mili te ry help r r i z But eaah of these cases is one that bas its oun degree Cf 1 1-1 f l let ur say of interast f'or the United States its own degree Q' E 4' t I' of risk and danger and consequently each one must be mat on 1-1 3 Q IQ e its merits e c I couldn't possibly give you a general rule of what tba Q IQ g Q g r r i - United Stats would do in a Qituatlon booauss no one could f This is not an official transcript Under White Houoe rules the President must not be quoted oirectly ' Ther fore this transcript must be paraphrased before any uoe io made of it Verbatim duplication for di1tribution prohibited 8 ao2 know all of the circumstances surrounding it I think the best ansuer I have heard in diplomacy was that given by France I believe to Germany in late August or late July of 1914 when Germany asked bar her intentions she said France vill do that which her best interests dictate and I believe that is about the only answer you can give except in terms of very groat generality Jm7 1 s c ffiM a lk I z ral Cf l H t l Q E t t 1-4 3 Q ral E t E t · Q ral g g 0 ral ________ _ ____ _ This is not an official transcript Under White House rules the President must not be quoted 'd-irectly Therefore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication or distribution prohibited 9 7 Q Garnett Hornel' Washington Evening Stad Mr PI'esident iml ---····· reports fr om Europe indicate th3t the European Defense Community p roject is bogging doim Tbat roisen again the quefltion of whether tfe have all our policy eggs in that E D C baslcet or whether there is some alternative in mind if E D C failc Could you comment on that THE PRE'UDENT threatened 1'11 th Ucll I did say that -- I have been defeat before and I don 1 t fight my second battle on the supposition that it is going to occur I am all out for the approval of E D C and est8 1Jli h1ng it as a factor that t•Jill insure Europe 1 s safety UnUl thElt question 1s defini tel3r settled -- and I still firmly believe in the affirmative -- I am not going to comment on it any further Q Robert a Spivack He'l'J York Post Tim PRE'UDENT Q Mr President A11 right Robert O Spivaclc New York Post Continuing -- an explosive situatton seem3 to be building up in the Middle East betwoen the Arab states and Israel which the Soviet Un ion seemfl to be exploiting if not fomenting I wondered if you favored b rln ing the Isreel-Arab dispute before the U D Security Cou c l tho uholc dispute --· - This is not an official transcript Under White House rules the President must not be quoted d-irectly • Therefore this transcript must he paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 0 i 01 CQ ' 4 I 01 Ill I'll If I 1-1 r I Cl E-4' Clil t 1-1 • Cl I'll E-4 E-4 · C Cl I'll g Cl i I'll I ·-· I This is not an ollicial transcript Under White HDuse rules the President must not be quoted d irectly Therelore thie transcript must be paraphrased be lore any use is made of it Verbatim duplication or di1tribution prohibited 11 I couldn't commont on that at the THE PRESIDENT Firsh aolf8 fls dsm moment It would be I think spealcing a li ttla bit 1•ecklessly We have had a very definite pr•ogram of our own that 1m have supported -- 1-1hen I say of our own I don't mean it quite that way -- we have tboroughly approved the idea that is implicit in the u N plan that through some economic unlty there ue would achieve a better lat us say psychological and political union and theref'ore ue have been very strongly supporting the plan or dpvelopment including water development and sharing that ue hoped vould be eff'ective There is of course so much emotionalism in the thing that you can't tell from day to day hov 1 t is going to come out but I do say it is a case where bo·ch sides ought to 4 1111 c ffiM restrain their partisans and their extremists and use a d-I little bit of reason and depend upon the judgments of out- I 11 1 side people • 11 l M r Nov this gentleman down here • Q e-i· Q Francis M Stephenson Nev York Daily Ne 1s t 1-f I wonder 3 Q if the Federal Government plans to take any action in the cc E-1 E-1 New York waterfront strike Q u C l THE PRESIDE11JT Q 0 Cl ' I - -- • - - rh0 question is about the Nev York ' This is not an official transcript Under White House rules the President must not be quoted dfrectly There'fore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 12 waterfront strike ao2 I of course want to be careful 'chat I don I t pre l end that I am going to get into a field whore it is so technical that I couldn't possibly expect to know ·the answers so I will talk a little bit in ganeralit l en but I think clearly enough to show intention and concorn -- _ 1 f ' This is not an official transcript Under White House rules the President must not be quoted d-irectly Therefore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 13 Any str Urn of thio i ind ls of the utmost importance to the 9 dsml whole nation and therefore t0 row • P 0dcrnl Cl-ovcrrnncnt Nou t·ihenever' w touch thlfl delicate transportation 8Chema system of the United States and affect it Reriously we affect the economy many thousands tic 1 e affect the living the welfare of affect even such thing8 as heal th and anltatlon th it s oi ·t of tli 1 nc so these things bocome seI 'iou i ins tautly rhe c econd thC y occur ove • _ Dclp2rtment of Government that 1 hns my poflsible connection in tantly keeps abreast of the c ituat ton The Attorney Cieneral the H L R B of course largely independent of course does so and determincA such things as elections and all thet sort of thing but at the I 01 rC same time Federal cour ts an independent branch they take 01 11 1 M I 01 action Fim J ly it becomes necessary to make sure that their' 1'1 1 a i z order a e obeyed 1 1 tr I H C ' 'here is also of' course the understanding in America Q E-4' t H 3 that everything is handled locally as long as it can be and you Q r i CCI E-1 don't bring dotm Federal Agencies until it is necessary There E-1 rC Q are city authorities there are state authorities they are u C Q i 0 01 ll ' Ii I' - - te doing their best and again uc have one of those cases where 'l'his is not an official transcript Under White H iuse rule• the Preaident must not be quoted d•irectly ' Therefore this transcript muat be paraphrased before any use ia made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited l 14 'lm 2 ·----- partnership must be observed I The Fede1•al Governmont has certain grav0 i -esponsibili ties imposed by law but there are also the police pot'lers and that sort of thing in l1 0eping order that reside in the local ' authorlt Jes so it is a queqtion of partnership and our Attoi n ey General tna H L n B the Secretary of Labor overy1 body ls keeping up tlith this as closely as possible and to ' keep me informed as to the tihole situation so that if tt does become the ref1pons1bility of the Federal Government to take more posit l ve action that ue at'e ready to move in accordance uith law the Constj tut ton end the merits of the case How theI'e ls very 1 i ttle more you can say I thinl-c on that matter r This is not an official transcript Under White House rules the President must not be quoted dlrectly · Therefore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 15 1rsh 01 20 ls dam Q Otto Leichter Arbeiter-Zeitung Vienna Austria and Swiss and Wast German llieuspapars r 1r President do you con- sider or contemplate any new init1at11Je to obtain an Austrian independence treaty or the withdrawal of all Occupation forces or at least to ease ·the occupation of Austria THE PRESIDENI' I am not sure that I understood every single implication of your question but generally 5 t uas do we have any new approach now to secure e general appro rn J of the Austrian treaty Q Otto Leichter Arbeiter-Zeitun g Vienna Austria - md Swiss and West German No rspapers THE PRESIDENT on it is this Yes About the only observation I could malre For now I think it is for si r or seven years we have stood firmly for the early completion of the Austrian treaty believing it would be holly unjust and unnaoessary to continua the occupation of that country in view particularly of the facts that early in the war it vas agreed that Austria bad bean occupisd country and not an instigator of the war so I know of no reason that we shouldn't continue to stand on that belief and as a matter of fact I knou ve do end we uill certainly be alert to avery -- llll-i --- -- -_ __ ·- ' Thie is not an official transcript Under White H Juse rules the President must not be quoted d'irectly ' Ther fore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 16 possible way of easing the situation 02 But uhen you come down to aslcing me to predict succear or uhat could be a brand new approach I could not comment Jus·t behind you Q George E Heirm n CBS Radio 11 Mr President the last few weeks the Soviet Union has broken a conf lderable a mount of precedent by publishing the details of' 1uclear and thermo- nuclear eirplosions Could you tell us ubs t your i'eelings are on their policies and intentions in m king public those facts lately THE PRESIDEN'l' 0 'Well no I don I t x•eally know - We have bad many discuoslons on them and I uould say inconclusive but there are some vbo believe that it is I ' c 1ndica ting a slight change in public policy that m1 gb t indicate 1111 1111 Ill ' 4 I a greater readiness to n gotiate earnestly and honestly • r 111 1113 cc We are trying to keep ourselves in position that at any If I 1-1 I sign or negotiating honestly so we can do ao i1ith confidence Q E·• a on the plan that I suggeoted last December which would be l 1-1 a Q Ill 11 l E-1 E• c merely a beginning -- all things like that -- we would certainly welcome in view of the situation in the vorld today Q Ill tJ C Q t ' I 0 r 111 Ila Ct No I am sorry this one This is not an official transcript Under White Huuse rules the President must not be quoted d irectly • Therefore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 17 Q Ray L Scherer NBC 8 03 Thank you sir- Mr Prasiden t the last couple of weelca several members of yout• team have announced they are returning to private lifa C D Taclcson Mr Kyes and Mr Dodge sml2 fls with us tbs problem of inducing auch men to stay in Governmcmt'f M a Ill 1-1 a r J s 0 c zr J Cf 1 1-1 C l Q e-t' a i t J 1-1 s Q r J E-1 E-1 Q r J u C Q 0 a Cl r J Cl - Could you discuss l Th's is not an ol icial transcript Under White Hvuse rules the President must not be quoted 'd-i ectly Therefore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made cf it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited J 2 'HIE PRESIDEl'J'l' dsml ·Jell toc1ay I tl i n it is perfcctl r clear to all of w uittl the family reflponsibilities that men have u1th the tar situo tion that thc y ha· 10 children to educate and all of tllat sort of th lnr it l s onl ir natural that they think thi kind of public cluty should be shared Non each of the three mon you nar ie prom l sed to sta y a year In each caac because ox' cortain changes ln the program a nd tile need for hl1v l ng • er y lntellJ gmri c posi tions bef'or-e tne committees of the llouae ond the Seunte they have agrecid to stay a little longer They ar-e d tfficult 'co rcplaco but in instancCJs I have -- I am sure 1e have -- 'ct10 very able and capable mmn to take their places i I er I believe th3t any government such as this is not wholly CZ Ill M I a damaged g Ill in from the ou'csido as long es they rire capable in themselves by some rotation of people and bringing fresh people ra tf l M and dedicated Q E t' ca t Now the three men that are going that you just named M E-4 l' Q I coulc1n 1 t speak of them 1n terms of' too great praise I E-4 c think they hsve done a remarkable job am indebted to them la g Q i 1 and I think the people er-0 indebted to them so it is not QI - - _ ---···-----·· ······ ' 'f' ls ls 11nt 111 offlctal tranocrlpt Under White House ruleo the President must not be quoted d•irectly · Therefore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 19 ee y for any people to fill their sho 11 but uhen you can do m2 it a certain amount of that rotat 1 r l r' good rather than bad Q Clarlt R f•1ollenhof f Des lnes Reg J ster and 'l'r ib1 me llr President several ueelrn a r I had asked if the Wh l te louse had given up its offorb 1 co obtain the resignation ot' Chair-man Johnson of tlw I CaC and at that time you stated that you had no lmo -Jledge of ' hat and I wondered if you had en opportunity to acquaint y m •self tqi th the LC c problem of pe sonnel THE PRE c IDENTz as 11 As a r1atter of fact I that matter of fact I forgot tlle question -- and uill you make a note and I ill Conferring 11th Mt• Hage1°ty t a As a matter of fact Nr Hagerty says that I make an Ill 1-1 ann er that i8 vor-y very unuaual for me because he says ci ra i g z no comment becau ie I don't knot·1 anything about it ra i Vl 1-1 But I r l t·li 1l tr·y again to loolc it up • Q E 4 t 1-1 Laughter ra i But juat a minute that is my last question and noH of E-1 c Mr Strauss 1a going to talce over- Q ra i n g Q g 1 hacl gone C ra i I ·- ____ _ ____ _ I d i dn 't realize that time Thia is not an of icial tanacrlpt Under White H 1use rules the President must not be quoted d irectly Tb1ulor1 tbl • tran • crlpt muat be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for dl • trlbutlon prohibited 20 ADmRAL STRAU - THE 1'RE IDENT Shall go right ahead Mr Pr esident Ye 'J tiu 1 ls gettinc short Let them clistX'lbute it ADMIRAL STfiAUSS Ladie- ond gentlemen the President has authorized rue to mako ov 11 lable those portions of my •oport of yesterday to him 1 he publication of which would not compr-omine in 'o mation v l tal l o the national security In order to be precise d as brief as possible I prep rc l a statement -- I bcl t nc it is being distributed -- and I s mJ J only read th0 hic h 1 3 rd s fX'om it 1n o rde1• to conservo your time and the tirae of lhc President 1 have just retur-no from the Pacif' lc Proving Grounds of the Conn ssion where I 1Jitnessed the second part of a test sm series of thermc1 uclcrir weapons I will descr•ibe t as well 1-1 as I arn able and 1n this statement before the de8cript1on there is a short liistorical background summary i1hich for this Cf l M Q morning I shall r 1lcip unless you care to aslc me questions about E I' Ill M 1t later 11G Early in J am1ar of this year men end supplies began - Q 11G to move out to the Proving G1•ounds for this series rs ca The first shot toolc PlMc on its scheduled date of • m - '••··- ------ ··--·---· - •This is not an official transcript Under White House rules the President must not be quoted d irectly • Ther fore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 21 dsm4 March 1st and the second on March 26th Both weri successful No test 1s made without a definite purpose and a careful determination that it is directed toi1ard an end r esul t of major importance to our military strength and readiness that 14 1s to say there are no idle or wanton tests o fls I I c c c c CQ 1-1 c c II IIQ t 1-1 r 13 I Q E t' 1-4 IIQ E-1 Q IIQ g 8c c 0 IIQ _- Thi• 11 not an o llclal tranocrlpt Under White lfouoe rules the President must not be quoted d irectly Thea fore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited rsh 1 14 The results which the scientists et Los Alamos and s dsm Livermore had hoped to obtain from theso two tests uere i'ull y realized and enormous poten·tial has been added in cons0quenoe to our military posture from -what we have learned 1 would also like t o note that the testing of weapons is important in order to be fully aware of the possible future aggressive ability of an enemy for ' Te now fully know that we possess no monopoly in capability in this awesome field Now about the specific tests The first one bas been variously characterized as devastating and out of control and uitb other soma-what a xa ggara te id and miatakou descriptions I would not wish to minimize it It was e stupendous bleat in the mega ton range but a·c no t1mo uas tha tes-cing out of control The misapprehension seems to have arisen due to two facts first that the yield was about double that of the calculated estimate -- a margin of error which I submit is not incom- Q E-4' Ill t 1--4 patibla with a totally nev weapon In fact the range of l fg E-4 0 r I guesses on tbe first A-bomb covered a considerably relativa1 wider spectrum g g a r I l The second reason uas because of the r clsults of the 1 ' ao2 1 Th 's 1· 8 not an o ficial transcript Under White HDuse rules the President must net be quoter 1 · Verbatim d irectly • There ore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is ma d e c · · i duplication for distribution prohibited 11 fall-out 23 11 Nou I think ns gou l nou uhan a la1 ge explos l on occurs on or within a corte lu d i rii 1nce of' tL 3 grou11d nn amount of earth or mter or 1ihat1 rn0r is beneath the canter of ·t he explosion is suckad up into the air fall out quickly end t I10 The heavy par'i icles lighter ones are borne out J n the direction of the uind until they too eventually fall out by grav1·cy If the e r losion 1s e nuclear on o thm-1 many of those particles are radioactive as is al o 1 e vaporized parts of the voapon itself This is the reason tllat tho Atomic Energy Commission from he beginning has conducted t0sts of larger weapons away from tho mainland so that the 11 fsll-out 11 would occur in the ocean and would be quickly dissipated both by tbe diJ ut1on and by the rapid decay of most of the radioactivity uhich is o f ohort duration This is not an official transcript Under White House rules the President must not be quoted d irectly Therefore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 24 6 The Narshall I8lunds iJere selected fol th ls pu rpose as sml a matter of fact before the f1tomic Energy Commission 11as conducted by Admir l Blandy During the months of Fcbrua 'y I 1arch and April of eoch year the Marshall Is J anos 1 1rc usn 1J ly fcnrox•ed by uinds nhich bloti mmy f'rom uny inhabit d atolls The t Jo atolls at Bilcini and Eni 'letolt m re chosen as the buoo 01' these ope rat1ons Each of' those atolls each of them is a ler-c e noclclace of coral reef surrounding a lRc oon of h1c to 'cl iree hundred squai'e miles 1 n erca and at vaz ous pain at this reef like beads on a string there FU'e a multitude of 11 ttle islands 80r e of them a fe i sco1 c acres in extent but most of them little snnd spits •- I This is not an official transcript Under White H use rules the President must not be quoted directly • TherUore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication or distribution prohibited 25 rsh It 1s these sm iJ l uninhabitzd troeless sand bars which 1 17 s dsm ure used f'or 'chase exp0rimants As c matter of fact shot one ms firod on such an islnrd rhich ·ue il c1 •or tod fo r• tbs purpose by dredging That is o chart th 1Jt is o map of' the atoll of Bilcini 'Fhe 1 Jhaded portions repz•eflont a reef' the boundary reef and the bJ ack spotn on l t e re he pieces of land or s nd nud the cor3 l uhich aro above no1'rr al high m·cor Uow baf'ore f l shot talr es plnc0 there is a cereiful iur -ey of' 'che u J nds at nll elevn tion • up to many thou w nds of feet This ourvey is conducted by usather and on fleet and A r For•c0 units at uidely separated points Contrary to tbs notion I had before I vas acquainted with 4 ffiM the subject windo don't blow in only one direction at a given a ra I cc z ra I time and place At various haigbts above the earth Hinds are V l H l l l to be found blowing frequently in exactly opposite directions Q r4' t-' and at greatly varying speeds An atomic cloud therei'ors H aCl which pushes up through these air· manses is sheared in the ra I rl rl direction in which the vinda blov ICC Q ra I g Q i 0 The staff' oi' meteorologisto G ttompt to for·ooast the 1rind lt I - • ' • This is not an official transcript Under White House rules the President must not be quoted directly ' Therefore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 26 ao2 d1rectiun for the optimum condition and the Task Force commandar therefore thereupon decides upon the a 'Grengi h of these weather reports uh t day be is going to shoot The weather forecasts he ve to be a 11 ttle bit longdistance long-range because it is the custom -- it was the custom -- in connectiou uith this test and the preceding ones that there is a search of t he irbole range visually and by radar conducted from squadrons of planes the day before the 1m 18 fls -- search and up to the timo of' the sbo·i This is not an official tran•cript Under White House rules the Pres_ident must _not be quoted Verbatim directly ' Ther fore this transcript mu•t be paraphrased before any use 1s made of it duplication for distribution prohibited 27 18 Th1R search covers a t zarning area and I think dsml put up that map 3'0U might 'l'he gr ien on this map j_s t 1 r - ig area and the place where I have put my finger• ls the location of this particular @ ' 'oup of atolls The warning area surrounds the Proving Grounds Hithin which -- covers the 1n ea in vihich hazaz•d to sM pping or av let lon is believed to exist and 10 Ma hRue P tablished many such oreen have othe1• governments He have a large area off the Pacific Coast Point Ifacu thel' 'e ls a big area from Flor lda out across the Dtl l10mns o r • suided mis iles a big area in the Hanaiian Isl nds tho British Government hes one off the Coast of Austr alia and iP toto 1e have established some 447 different 1 1n°n l ng 01• danger areas incJuding Continente l areas Despite these notices there are many instances whore accidents or near accldents hove resul tad from inaaveI•tent tre 'lpass 1n such warning areas The very size of them maice 'l 1 t imporis1ble to fence them and on the day of Shot lfo 1 the meteorologists had predicted a wind condition which ihould hove carried the fall-out to the north of the group of niall atolls -- mt I 1 __ _ ____________ _ Will you show the direction ln t1M ch -- that H n v os ____ _ • This is not an official transcript Under White HDuse rules the President must not be quoted d irectly Then fore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 28 1m2 the direction of the v1ind predicted by the meteorologists Tlle sur vey ai rcPaft care fullJ r s0arched the orea and reported they found 110 shipping The shot was accordingly fired rI1e t1ind failed to follou the predictions shifted f- outh 1 of that line anc1 tho little 1fllends of Rongelap Rongcrilc and r Ute t'ik twre in the edge of the 11 fell-out 1 A Japanese figh i ng tr-atilor ' the Foz tunate D1•egon oppcar-cd to hove be ln missed by the search but based on a stotement £ittx• 1 buted to the slcipper to the effect that he saw the flash and hea 'd the sound of' the concussion 1dthin six minutes he must have been 1ell t11 thin the danger area The 23 crei·i members on the ship 28 Am rican personnel I a manning t1eather stations on the 11 ttle islands and the 236 IQ 1-4 I a natives on these islands 1er e also t·iithin the area of the z fall-out mo cc Cf 1 1-1 c The supposition that the actual blast of the bomb extended Q E-4' cg t over such an enormous area 1s of course strictly untrue 1-1 3 Cl IIJ cc The task for-ce commander General Clarlcson promptly II evacuated all of the people from these islands Q g ' 'hey were Q 0 tai een to Kwajale1n where a ' Cr l 20 01 e- f'1 tie hcive n naval establishmont and This is not an oll icial transcript Under White House rules the President must not be quoted d-irectly • Therefore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited Firsh I visited them there last ueek Since that time it has o 1 2 fls dsm -- been determined that our weather personnel could be returned to duty but they are still bein g lcep·t on Kwajalein for the benefit of further observation personnel have any burns None of these 28 weather The 236 natives also appeered to me to be well and happy There T Tere two exceptions one an aged man in advanced stages of diabetes and the other one an old lady with crippling arthritis Neither of these cases of' course bad anything to do with these tests and today a full month after the events the medical staff on Kuajalein have advised us they anticipate no illness barring of course the possibility that disease hereafter contracted might e luays be e rp0r•lencec1 and as a matter of fact wa have mora natives than we started with One child was born while I ms there and four more are expected Laughter They named the child a little girl after my wife and I thought she ought to be dowered and since they have no use for money I gave ber ten pigs Q Merr1man Smith United Preas the child What was the name or 29 • This is not an official transcript Under White H iuse rules the President must not be quoted directly Therefore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 102 lsm21 f'ls ftt-m ADMIRAL S1 RAUSS 30 I thin tha family name is Ma juro but I am not cercain e s to - het f This is not an official transcript Under White House rules the President must not be quoted • directly Therefore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 31 'l dsml Q Garnett D Ifoi -nci iJ shtngton Evening Star What was her firnt name Q i'lr0 Hoy Cra l c I-1' dne Ne mspoperu lJlmt is your wife I s name J1D1 1IHAL STRAUSSz Alice That is not a part of th'-s prepared statement Laughter The situation 111th rospect to the 23 Japanese fishermen is less certain due to the fact that our people have not yet been pci mi tted by the Japanese author t l es to malre a p t'oper clinical e am1nat1on When I WI'ote this last night I t as unat-1are of the fact that there was a meAsage on the 'fires -- I received it this morning -- indicating that those restrictions iould be removed CIS Ill er co 1-4 I today and that e ould see these people today er a z But it is interesting to note that the reports Hh1ch have If I 1-4 t i recently come through to us indicate that the blood count of Q' E-4' ca t these men is comparable to that of our weather station personnel 1-4 E-4 tiho as I told you a n1omcint befor ie are fit to return to duty E-4 Some skin lesions tJhich have been observed ere thought to Q DQ g Q i be due to the chemicel activity of the converted material in the Cl I'll C --- S 1111- -------- This is not an official transcript Under White House rule • the President must not be quoted airectly · Therefore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 32 dsm2 coral rath r than to radioactivity since these lesions are reported to be healing The men are under continuel observation by Japanses physicians and we are represented in Japan very adequately by Dr John Morton of the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission and Mr Eisenbud of 1It1J of' 'iae I am going to skip these other points unJ 0ss you uish 22 fls SL a _ ·- to discuss them l This is not an official transcript Under White House rules the President must not be quoted directly · Therefore thie tranecriptmuet be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for di • tribution prohibited 33 ll'1rsh I would 11ks to remark theta recant comment that I have 3 01 22 fls dsrn seen which suggested that tha inctc lent involving the fa 11-out on inhebi ted araa s was c ctually tion has g1 ee tly distressed ins ° planned par·t of t he operaI would not uish to comment on that o·chor tban to cb1 ractarize 1 t as irresponsible and utterly fa lea Hud a i doing a grnve injustice to the man uho e re engaged in thi n patrl otic mission And finally I HouJ d lllte to say the t one important 1•esuJ t of these hyd ogcu boufo developments bas bs m the enhnncsmcmt oi our military ce pabil ity to the point where us should ooon ba more free to increas- our emphasis on the peacoful use of atomic pmrnr at homa and abroad It will be a t1•0m0ndous sat1sf'action to all of the men uho have participa tad 4 a a in this program that it has hastened that day c ISi M J Q Merriman Smith United Press r tr Cbairrne n -- a 111 l z111 l a Q Kenn ath r 1 Scheibel Gannett Newspapers Mr Chairman tf 1 1-1 r l you said that this particular explosion ms not out of control Q - cg t But is it possible that in any series of tests that a hydrogen 1-1 r C r l explosion or aeries of them could get out of control ADMIRAL STRAUSS1 Q r l tJ Q 0 a 0o ca c -- - that is impossible I am informed by the scientists that This is not an official transcript Under White House rules the President must not be quoted ilirectly Ther efore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 0 ao2 Q Charles S von Fromd CBS Television AdmiI'al Strauss yesterday at bis news conference Secretary of Defr mse Wilson said th0 results oi' the fl' rcb 1st test -- is the one he was referrlng to -- was unbeJ ievabJ e dsm23 fls ca re to comment on ·i hnt Would you • This is not an ollicial transcript Under White House rules the President must not be quoted irectly • Therefore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 35 ADtilIRAL S' fflAUSS 3 ml that No I don 1t think I should comment on The use of that adjective I think ias played up beyond the point where the Secretary intended 1 t I don I t imou what is meant by unbelievable and I uould rather not cor 1memt Q Nat fl Finney Bu f'f'alo Evening N s Mr Chairman do you intend to imply by tho last paragz aph in this st0t0ment that the i-iork on the miapon phase of th atom is r eachlng a completion that we a 'c approaching a po 1n·i t hcre pursu l t of this will no longer yield vez•y large p rof ts and that we '1111 therefore turn our z esea rch po11cr to the peaceful applications ADMIRAL STRAUSS is this Mr Finney I th nlt the n rncr · to that The lttli tary have certain requ l rements 'fhe Commission is engaged 1n attempting to fill those requb'cm mts The ability of the Comlllission to devote attention and f'iss lo o -· able material to peaceful requirements peaceful ne 3ds io always junior to the defense needs by definition of the Act itself The 1•esult of these tes' s has brought us very much nearer to the day of the satis 'act1on of military requirementss put us tJi thin sight of tber i s o t ic '1'f can seo i hs a b '--li t ' This is not an official transcript Under White House rules the President must not be quoted airectly ' Ther efore this transcript must he paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 36 to proceed aggressively i1lth the pcncaitime development oi' poi-1er to an extent that i1e were not able to befor 'e the tcs ts Q Hats Finney Buf·falo Eveni1' g News Q Richard Wilson Cmih • Publications Thm11t y-ou 91X' Admiral Strauss can you go bc yona this statement and describe the area of th D bloat the effcctivi incss of the blast and give a gencr'e l rJ cscript 1-on of t1hot actm illy happ med lJhen the H-bomb mmt 21 off ao fls _ ______ _ This is not an official transcript Under White House rules the President must not be quoted airectly · Therefore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use ia made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited Firsh aol 24 fls dsm ADMIRAL STRAUSS 37 ' 'ha area of tha blast Mr Wilson would be about -THE PRESIDENT Why not depend on those pictures they are all going to see ADMIRAL STRAUSS I understand you are going to sea a film a picture of' the 1952 shot The area i f I uere to desoriba it specifically uould be translatable into the number of megatons invol vod trhicb is a lll atter of m J litary secrecy The effects you said tha effectiveness -- I don't knou exactly -what you meant by that s r so I don't knou hou to answer it Q Richard Wilson Cowles Publications Well I don't mean in the percentage of the effectiveness of or the efficiency of the blas·t itself But many people in Congress I think many elsewhere• ha •e been reaching out and gras1 ing fc r some information as to what happens -1hen the H-borub goes off how big is the area of destruction in its various stages and what I am asking you for now 1s soma enlightenment on that subjeot ADMIRAL STRAUS3t Well the nature of a 11 H-bomb f-lr ' This is not an official transcript Under White H iuse rules the President must not be quoted airectly_- Tber'elore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for distribution prohibited 38 ao2 'Wilson is that in effect it can be made to be as ls rge as you wish as large a J 1 he m111 t s ry requirement demands• the t is to se y an R-bomb can be mode as -- large enough to take out a city A chorus of Uha t 11 dsm25 fls - ADIURAL 8TRAUSS 1 'l'o talte out a c1 ty to des troy a c1 ty 5 I • This is not an official transcript Under White H iuse rules the President must not be quoted eirectly • Ther'efore this transcript must be paraphrased before any use is made of it Verbatim duplication for diatribution prohibited 39 Q l ler 'iman Smith United Press How big a city 1 P ny city ADNIRAL S 'lRAUSS Q Merriman Smith Unltod Pross The mctropoli tan area yes ADMIRAL S'ffi AUSS Q nax-tin Any city Hem York il g1•onslcy American Broadcasting Company Er Chnil•man may I asl this specific luestion If you t-iore - to msll e u comparison duplicnting tho C T plosion that occurred at Enin tok nith this building in which ue ore right non as the cent or uhat tioulc 1 be left of this city of fashington because the pracis UJeasurements of theco not been completely calibrated or tt o befol'e I lmOt'J b10 shots hove It may be as much as a month be a very the ans1 -rnr to it extensive -Q Martin Ag onsky i merican BJ 'oadc2stlng Company 111 J ll you provide that ansl1er nt some tim3 sl i - ADNIRAL 'l'RAUSS z I 1on 1 t make o det'1ni te comm1 tment but I t10ul 1 certa lnl · like to Q Me1•r tm0n Smith Uni tea Prass Thank you r-tr Chairman Hhereupon et n 09 a r 1 th0 P oss Conference m1s I