411552
J
10 December 1958
MEMORANDUM FOR THE FILES OF LEWIS L.
2
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Edward Teller called on me today by appointment
made by Captain Morse who later joined us.
Dr. Teller
expressed himself as convinced that the conference now
going on in Geneva on the suspension of testing of atomic
=) 5. Weapons would conclude with an agreement that would be to
““". the very serious disadvantage of the United States.
He
\
1
reminded me
that he had told me
last
July that the delegation
S| ., of scientists which we had sent to Geneva had inaccurate
yf ot
knowledge of the detectability of underground tests and that
oT Ay they had been at fault in stating that tests of } kiloton
2 re ,weapons could be almost certainly detected anywhere.
ide.
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site ee APO
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Dr.
STRAUSS
nee,
temte
.
It now appears as a result of the .second HARDTACK
PRiseries that tests of as large as 20 kilotons can pass unTE
detected.
He said that he had sent a memorandum to Geneva
2 eto our delegation at its meeting but that
“~
“regarded.
it had been dis-
He pointed out that the group of Rabi, Bethe
and Bacher, who are the prime movers of test suspension, are
the same individuals who bitterly opposed the H-bomb program
and that their advice, whether sincere or innocent, has been
invariably wrong.
He reminded me that he had wanted to make
a public statement in September and that IJ] had dissuaded him
from doing it.
He said he felt he should not longer delay.
I said I would not take the position of opposing the statement from him but thought he should consider the consequences;
that he was now the Director of an AEC National Laboratory
and that this might make his continuance in such capacity
impossible.
This, he said, he had considered and was prepared
to resign if requested.
’
I then said I thought he had a responsibility to inform
Chairman McCone of his proposed statement which he said he
would do.
I suqgested that in lieu of making a statement,
he had best address a letter to the President.
He replied
that he would do so but that he felt such a letter would be
referred by the White House staff to Dr. Killian and that the
President might either never hear of it or just receive a
brief and disparaging version.
(This opinion, in view of
Rabi's statement to the President concerning Teller and
Lawrence in my presence last year is probably a good appraisal
of what would happen.)
I told Dr. Teller that he might try
getting the letter to the President through the good offices
of General Goodpaster.
He said he would do this.
He also
said that he was seeing the Vice President this afternoon
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