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Senator to Groves on Sharing on Atomic Weapons! "We yield to the implied threat that 'if you don't the Russians will.'"
Senator to Groves on Sharing on Atomic Weapons! "We yield to the implied threat that 'if you don't the Russians will.'"
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Groves Leslie



Senator to Groves on Sharing on Atomic Weapons!  “We yield to the implied threat that ‘if you don’t the Russians will.’”

 

 

Typed Letter Signed, to Leslie R. Groves Jr., June 28, 1958, Washington, DC. 1 p., 8" x 10.5".  Includes copy of Groves’s Typed Letters to Russell, June 25, 27, 1958. Very good.

 

Excerpts

Russell to Groves:

“Permit me to acknowledge and thank you for your letter in regard to my position on the Atomic Transfer bill. My observation of our international relations over a quarter of a century has brought me to the conclusion that we are foolish for embarking on such programs. I have observed that we cannot give money or arms to two or three nations without bringing in every country with which we have friendly relations. We yield to the implied threat that ‘if you don’t the Russians will.’ In the field of conventional weapons we have seen violation after violation of our agreement with the recipients. There is even less reason to believe that we could prevent any country from using atomic weapons or information for any purpose they desire. I share your hope that the authorization will be used sparingly, but the fact that the power is there brings me to the inescapable conclusion that we will be blackmailed into its general use.”

 

Groves to Russell, June 25, 1958:

“I was very much interested in reading of your negative vote on the legislation authorizing the President to transfer atomic information abroad. Based on my own experiences as to what can and does happen when such information leaves our complete control, such an authorization can well lead to unfortunate results. In saying this, I am not referring to the Fuchs, May, or the Burgess-Maclean affairs, where treason to their own country was evident, but to other matters where disloyalty was not a factor. I wish that I could hope that this authorization will be used sparingly.”

 

Groves to Russell, June 27, 1958:

“I want to express my pleasure over the position you have taken, and held, against strong opposition, with respect to military testimony before congressional committees. As you are well aware, this is not a new problem. Every officer who testifies before a congressional committee recognizes the potential danger to himself in the way of direct or indirect penalties.... I hope that you will be able to prevent your objection from being glossed over, for the principle should be applied to all witnesses testifying before legislative committees. Unless this can be done, then all official testimony will remain suspect, as it has been in the past.”

 

Historical Background

In the wake of the Soviet Union’s launch of the first artificial Earth satellite in October 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower urged Congress to consider sharing atomic weapon information with American allies. In mid-June 1958, the U.S. House of Representatives passed by a vote of 345 to 12 a bill that would permit the United States to share some of its atomic weapons secrets with friendly nations. On June 23, 1958, the U.S. Senate passed an amended version of the bill and returned it to the House. Congress approved the bill on June 30, and President Eisenhower signed it on July 2.

 

When Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, the Navy’s ranking officer, testified before Congress in June 1958, Secretary of Defense Neal H. McElroy characterized Burke’s testimony as “regrettable,” “mistaken,” and out of line with the views of President Eisenhower. In response, Senator Russell, as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, announced that he would summon no more military officers as witnesses on defense organization until he had assurances from the administration that officers could “testify in complete candor without being threatened overtly or covertly.”

 

 

Richard B. Russell Jr. (1897-1971) was born in Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1918. After a decade in the Georgia legislature, he served as governor of Georgia from 1931 to 1933, when he was elected to the U.S. Senate. He served in the Senate from 1933 to his death in 1971. There, he supported the New Deal and opposed the civil rights movement. He served as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee from 1955 to 1969 and of the Senate Appropriations Committee from 1969 to 1971. He was a prominent supporter of a strong national defense.

 

Leslie R. Groves Jr. (1896-1970) was a United States Army General with the Corps of Engineers who oversaw the construction of the Pentagon and directed the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb during World War II. Born in New York to a Protestant pastor who became an army chaplain, Groves graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1918 in a course shortened because of World War I. He entered the Corps of Engineers and gained promotions to major by 1940. In 1941, he was charged with overseeing the construction of the Pentagon, the largest office building in the world, with more than five million square feet. Disappointed that he had not received a combat assignment, Groves instead took charge of the Manhattan Project, designed to develop an atomic bomb. He continued nominally to supervise the Pentagon project to avoid suspicion, gained promotion to brigadier general, and began his work in September 1942. The project headquarters was initially in the War Department building in Washington, but in August 1943, moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He and physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer selected the site in Los Alamos, New Mexico, for a laboratory, and Groves pushed successfully for Oppenheimer to be placed in charge. Groves was in charge of obtaining critical uranium ores internationally and collecting military intelligence on Axis atomic research. Promoted to major general in March 1944, Groves received the Distinguished Service Medal for his work on the Manhattan Project after the war. In 1947, Groves became chief of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project. He received a promotion to lieutenant general in January 1948, just days before meeting with Army Chief of Staff Dwight D. Eisenhower, who reviewed a long list of complaints against Groves. Assured that he would not become Chief of Engineers, Groves retired in February 1948. From 1948 to 1961, he was a vice president of Sperry Rand, an equipment and electronics firm. After retirement, he served as president of the West Point alumni association and wrote a book on the Manhattan Project, published in 1962.


Ex. Leslie Groves Family, Christies Auction.

 

 



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