POCATELLO (US): President Truman said here today [May 10] he would order the use of the atomic bomb again if necessary. He rev­iewed the first use of the atomic bomb against the Japanese to do away with the need of landings in Japan, which, he said, would have cost 200 thousand American lives. “I made up my mind that the best way to save lives of those young men and the best way to save lives of Japanese soldiers also was to drop those bo­­mbs and end the war. And I did it, and I would say that I would do it again, if I have to.”

Mr Truman, who is on a speaking tour of the Middle West and Western states, also said that when the first atomic explosion occurred in July 1945 in New Mexico “I decided I would do my utmost to see that this new discovery was used in a way which would make the world a better place… . …

“Nothing that has happened since has shaken my resolve to see that great force used for peace.” He disclosed that from knowledge gained at an atomic energy testing station, now being built at Arco … “it should be possible to develop machines to generate useful power and drive ships and aeroplanes”.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2025