ATOMIC ENERGY


  9. Re last paragraph Department reference telegram, I agree
political considerations and public relations of Belgian Government
(specifically Van Zeeland's political position) outweigh economic as-
pects, but if in terms of point four of agenda an increase of unit price
is stipulated in contract and surplus deposited to Belgian "public
interest fund", this would, in my opinion, go long way toward amelio-
rating political aspects. In other words, the political and economic
aspects are closely tied together as the Belgian delegation may assert
and not without reason.
  10. If, as stated by Silvercruys (see memorandum on conversation
December 2 21) this increase were only used "to defray transportation
and living expenses of those Belgian scientists and technicians who
might come to United States" a reasonable increase would seem to me
to be politic. Silvercruys reference to strengthening of "Belgian science
in this field" smacks of constructions of reactor. I assume Department
still would like for security reasons to prevent the construction of
one in Belgium despite Russian bomb.
  11. Presumably drain on uranium, should Belgium launch into ex-
tensive atomic power project would be a graver consideration. French
reactors and reported construction of reactors in Norway and Sweden
are increasingly bringing home to Belgians feeling-that they, principal
suppliers uranium to United States, are missing boat.
  12. No doubt French are ambitious to become center for European
atomic energy and draw in smaller countries on "joint" effort.
While
not wishing to give too much emphasis to Joliot7s 22 influence and
his contention that Europe is running danger of becoming completely
subservient to United States in new all-powerful science of atomic
energy, I think this idea may have some effect and seems to have been
back of Dautry's '23 proposals to European movement cultural confer-
ence at Lausanne December 8.24 In this connection, Freson 25 mentioned
that a French company has succeeded in outmaneuvering an American
company and obtained a concession to refine large thorium deposits in
  21 Thememorandum of the conversation between Baron Silvercruys, Belgian
Ambassador in the United States, and Under Secretary of State James E. Webb,
December 2,1949, is not printed.
  I Professor Frederic Joliot-Curie, French High Commissioner for Atomic
Energy.
  SRaoul Dautry, Administrator General, French Atomic Energy Commission.
  Reference is to the European Cultural Conference in Lausanne, Switzerland,
December 9-42, 1949. Among ,the recommendations of the conference was the
establishment of an all1European Insititute of Nuclear Physics.
  25Secretary General of the Belgian Inter-University Institute of Nuclear
Physics.


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