Clinton News-Record, 1967-07-20, Page 88
’* ’IB
Clinton News-Record, Thursday, July 20, 1987 I 4
The Political Decision To Drop The Bomb
By, R. J. CHILDERHC6E
At 5:29 a.m„ July 16, 1945f
’ a. flash of awesome light rip.
ped a murky desert dawn in
New Mexico. It was the first
atomic blasta scientific tri.
umph. Three weeks later
science was perverted as
174,000 people died under the
world’s first.atom bombs,
We were told — and most of
us have believed - that Hir
oshima (78,000 deaths) and Nag*
asaki (96,000 deaths) were
necessary to defeat Japan and
ip save countless Allied lives,
The facts are different. Japan
was, to all intents, defeated by
late 1944. As early as Septem*
ber 1944 peace-feelers were
being offered. The battle cry
of Washington was “uncondi
tional surrender” - and the
Japanese held to one condition:
they wanted to retain their em
peror in any future form of
government that might be im
posed on them.
... So, in that dreadful spring of
1945, Japanese cities were
lashed by fire just as German
■ cities were being lashed.
(It wasn’t the atom bomb that
introduced war against civilian
populations, Hitler did that by
bombing Coventry earlier in the
war.)
; It took the Allies to develop
the art of exterminating masses
of civilians by carefully man*
aged fire storms in ancient
crowded cities.
On the night of February
13-14, 1945, an armada pf 773
Lancaster bombers dropped
650,000 incendiary bombs on the
German city of Dresden. In
the morning, 311 USAF Flying
Fortresses followed with high
explosives while escorting
fighters Strafed the running sur
vivors.
In tpat single holocaust.
135,000 people died. We did
that. Dresden was of no mil
itary significance. Neither was
Hamburg, Munich or Chemnitz,
Since Canadians were big in
Bomber Command, we will
share whatever blame history
attaches to • the great revenge
raids against Germany in that
bloody spring of 1945,
In the war against Japan in
1945 - as with its war against
Vietnam today - the U.S. will
bear its guilt alone. Between
March 9 and June 15, 1945,
the USAF flew 7,000 bomber
missions raining incendiaries
on Japanese cities. The paper
and bamboo houses were par*
ticularly vulnerable to fire,
The great fire raid on Tokyo
the night of March 9 was typ*
ical. In that one night 124,000
died and another 1,500,000 were
rendered homeless. At the rate
of "a city per night, Japan would
I soon rpn out of cities, Wash
ington ordered that four Jap. •
anese cities be spared that
they might better reflect the
. ruin of a single atomic bomb.
The cities were Hiroshima,
Korkura, Nigata, and Kyoto.
Since Kyoto, “the city of
temples”, was the ancient cap.
ital and cultural mecca of Jap.
an, it was crossed off the list,
In its Place went Nagasaki,
Japan was trying to sur
render. U.S. Military leaders
including General Eisenhower
advised against using the Bomb.
MRS. NORMAN (LONG
Phone 262-5180
A Case For
Breathalizers
We welcome the Federal Gov
ernment’s announcement that it
is preparing an amendment to
the Criminal Code, to be pre
sented to Parliament in the fall,
that would make the breathal
yzer test compulsory.
The breathalyzer is a device
for measuring the alcoholic con
tent of a person’s breath. The
breathalyzer test is used as
an indicator of the degree to
which a person’s ability to drive
a car has been Impaired by
alcohol. The test is recognized
and is given considerable weight
in Ontario courts. But nobody,
under any circumstances, can
be required to submit to the
test.
It appears that the projected
legislation will make it an of-
fence for a car driver to re
fuse to take a breathalyzer
g ■ test’ when asked by an officer I Ofthe^W^
' Accb'rdlhg to"'the Toronto
Star, “a series of tests in Eng.
land last year showed that in
a significant number of cases
there was a wide difference be
tween the percentage of alcohol
found in the breath and the ac
tual percentage in the blood -
which is the significant factor.
“Certain conditions may con
centrate alcohol in the lungs,
producing a deceptively high
reading in the breath.
“There is, therefore, a dan
ger that if breathalyzer read
ings are taken as an infallible
guide, some motorists who have
drunk moderately; are in fact
sober, may be convicted while
some who are actually drunk
may escape punishment.
Justice Minister Pierre-El
liott Trudeau has hinted that
under the proposed amendments
to the Code, it would be nec
essary to supplement breathal- .
yzer tests with other evidence
in order to secure a convic*
tion.
The annual Cochrane reunion
was held at Clangregor Square,
Bayfleld, on July 9, Fifty-five
sat down to supper. It was de
cided to hold the picnic the
same date next year with the
location to be decided at a later
date, Wm. Elliott, Centralia,
was re-appointed president;
Margaret Jones, secretary; Ian
McAllister, treasurer. Tasle
committee for 1968, Belva Fuss
and Ethel M cMurtrie. RuthWil-
lert, Jean Rathwell and Brenda
Turner will be in charge of
sports.
The results of sports, con.
ducted by Ruth Willert and Bren,
da Turner, were: 5 and under,
Robert Willert,. Gail Turner;
girls 6 - 10, Janice Turner,
Lois Elliott; boys 6 * 10, Ste-
ven Hillier, John Hillier; girls
11 • 15, Kathy. Fuss, Margaret
Madge; boys 11 - 15, Ken-
neth Jones, John Hillier; young
ladies Linda Fuss, Ruth Wil
lert; young men, Grant Jones,
Kenneth Jones; three-legged
race, Kenneth Jones and John
Hillier, Brenda Turner and
• Margaret Madge; wheelbarrow
race, John Hillier and Kenneth
Jones, Janice and Brenda Tur*
ner; ladies’ kick the slipper,
Linda Fuss; mens kick the slip
per, John Hillier; oldest person,
Mrs. Jean Cameron; lucky table
prize, Ethel McNurtrie; young,
est person, Saiidra Willert;
closest wedding anniversary,
Mr. and Mrs. Harry Fuss; per
son from greatest distance,
. . Mrs. Annie C. Hopkins; Centen- A
Knial Harry Fus^'
Mrs. Wm. Fuss; mystery ob
ject, Steven Hillier.
their two grandchildren Joyce
and Paul Sheffer of Drydan,
Mich,, spent the weekend with
Mr. and Mrs. Ellin Kerr,
and Mrs. Robert Brown
of Detroit, Mrs. Marguerite
Ulch' of Windsor and Mr. and
Mrs. Ed Little, Hensail,visited
Sunday afternoon with Mr. and
Mil's. N, Long.
Pastor Ivor and Mrs. Boden,
ham left Wednesday by jet for
a few weeks in London, England.* * *
Mr. and Mrs. David Moyer
and Adelle of ParrySound spent
Sunday with Robert Thomson;
also Mr. and Mrs. Bert
Thomson and family.
* *
Miss Linda Coleman of near
Seaforth is holidaying with her
grandparents, Mr. and Mrs.
Rochus Faber.
The atomic scientists were pet.
ltionlng Washington against its
use. Then why drop the Bomb?
According to Gar Alperovitz
In his book Atomic Diplomacy:
Hiroshima and Potsdam, the
reasons for dropping atomic
bombs on Japan were:
to prevent Russia from
over-running Manchuria;
- to achieve unilateral con
trol over post-war Japan;
- to demonstrate the Bomb
as a terror weapon;
- to shock Russia with a
dramatic display of power and
the willingness of the U.S.A,
to use it. -
Quite simply: the decision
to drop atom bombs pn Japan
was’ a political decision, The
reason was Russia, The Red
Army had conquered and was
occupying large tracts of
Eastern Europe. Churchill and
Roosevelt were anxious to oust
the Soviet troops and set up
governments in the liberated
countries sympathetic to west
ern-style democracy.
The Yalta Agreement of Feb
ruary 1945 reflected the real*
itites of the time. Europe was
divided into occupied zones of
influence, Russia was to con.
trol the Balkans, Poland and
Central EMrpp.6> while the West
ern Powers held sway in places
like Italy and Greece, Roose-
velt died April 12, 1945. His
successor set about breaking
the Yalta Agreement. Han’t S,
Truman believed in power pol
itics; with the emphasis on
power.
Since the U.S, had overwhelm
ing economic power, and the
Soviet Union required massive
reconstruction aid, Truman felt
he could call the shot in the
organization of Europe behind
Red Army lines. He called for
a showdown on Poland.
Stalin refused to respond on
the Polish question and on May
g ~ the day after the war with
Germany ended - Truman can.
celled Lend Lease aid to Rus- ‘
sia, This crack of the economic •
whip hart, but the Soviets re
mained obstinate. The U.S. gov-.
ernment next escalated the dip.
lqmatic pressure by refusingto
withdraw American troops from
the Soviet zone of occupied
Germany,
Since Russian troops were in
a position to determine the
future of Austria - to say not
hing of Czechoslovakia, Poland,
Rumania, Hungary and Bulgaria
this ploy backfired. Churchill
urged a Big Three meeting
to thrash things out with Stalin,
The site would be Potsdam, on
the fringes of Berlin. At the
suggestion Of secretary of war
Stimson, president Truman de?
cided tp stall on the Potsdam
meeting until after the first
atom bomb test,
Since the first A-bomb could
not be ready for firing before
mid-July, Truman had two
months to stall away in Europe,
He filled the gap by sending
Harry Hopkins - a former aide
pf Roosevelt's — pn a mission
■ to Moscow. The Hopkins-Stalin
' talks were successful in sett
ling the Polish question, Since
this was accomplished by ob
servance of the Yalta agree
ment, some U.S. critics denoun*
ced the Hopkips mission as a
“sell-out."
Mr. Truman followed this
concession with an order to
Withdraw U.S. troops from
Soviet zones in Germany. The
Soviets in turn withdrew from
Western nones in Germany und
Austria.
As the mid-July confrontation
at Potsdam approached, Tru
man felt confident for several
reasons: He still held the econ*
omic aid whip over Russia;
the U.S, Army was still intact
and in Europe; the A-bomb
was almost his,
Ideally, Truman would have
liked to have had the Bomb
“laid-on" Japan before Pots,
dapn* but this he couldn't have.
There wasn't time. There never
was any question that the Bomb
would be dropped,
On July 17, at Potsdam with
.Stalin and Churchill, Truman
• got the news. The first atomic
explosion had exceeded expect*
ations. The blast in New Mexico
equalled .20,000 tons pf
Truman returned to neg
atiQBS, A week later he ca
ally informed Stalin that
U.S,, had a new weapon tl
intended to use ontheJapane
The Hiroshima: bomb was
ready waiting at Tinian Isla
in the Pacific. The Nagas
bomb s- the duplicate of
New Mexico device - was
its way within a week. It t<
174,000 Japanese lives to j
press Stalin that the U,*
meant business.
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CORRIE’S
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FOODMASTER
HURON STREET — CLINTON
FEATURE BUYS - Wednesday, July 19 To Closing Saturday, July 22
"Specially Selected" Value Check'd Branded
BLADE ROASTS
(Blade Removed)
"This other evidence could
be a blood test: the House of
Commons justice committee
has recommended that an ac.
cused person who has been
“breathalyzed" should have the
right to call for a blood test
as well."
It would be ridiculous to sug
gest. of course, that guilt or
innocence should rest solely on
the readings of a breathalyzer
test. But as long as a driver,
suspected of drinking, can
flatly refuse to take a breath*
alyzer test with the full backing
of the law, just so long are
we robbing ourselves of a pos
sibly important weapon against
the drinking driver.
PERSONALS
Kathy Bell returned home
from a week's vacation at her
grandfather's home in Shake
speare, Master Gordon Bell is
spending the summer there.
Mr. and Mrs. Ed. Sheffer and
TTrmnrmnrmnnrmHnnrv
Experiments at the University
of Utah College of Medicine with
the tiny grasshopper, mouse—an
aggressive animal" that can kill
other animals ten times its size
-—have shown that even the most
aggressive animals can be
taught not to fight.
The northern grasshopper
mouse, or onychomys leucogast
er, will run up behind Its prey,
grab it with its legs, and gnaw
into the brain stem at the base
of the skull. It can kill in
10 seconds.
Using “novice" grasshopper
mice with no fighting exper
ience, the researchers found that
when a strange mouse of another
species ‘was put Into the cage,
a grasshopper mouse would sniff
the stranger, then stage only a
mock attack.
‘Wm.Whiling
What’s $118 million? That’s
what it cost Canadians for the
operation of the CBC last year.
The beginning of color tel.
ecasting and increased expend
itures for centennial programs
were cited as part of the rea.
sonH> «£•
The cost of the CBC has been
editorialized many times.
There’s no point in going over
it, * If the CBC was owned by
Canadian General Electric,
General Motors, Famous Play,
ers, Lord Thomson or Mr. X.
it would’t lose millions. They
would make millions with it.
Every Canadian should write
his MP advising the govern*
ment ot sell the CBC to a
profit-making organziation.
The CBC is asking for over
$143 million for 1967-68. Will
we give it to them? Certainly.
We’re stupid!
* * * *
Two specials showed up in
the latest U.S. Nielsen ratings.
First position went to “You’re
In Love, Charlie Brown", and
“The Steve Allen Comedy
Hour" placed 7th.
Andy Griffith was number
two, with Dean Martin placing
third. Family Affair was 4th,
with Bonanza number 5, and
Gomer Pyle in 6th spot.
The Lucy Show was Sth, with
The Smothers Brothers nufnber
9. Tuesday Night at the Movies
was 10th, and Red Skelton and
Saturday Night at the Movies
were tied for 11th position.
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