FOREIGN RELATIONS, 19-50, 0VOLUME I


couraging to note that those who have been working with these facts
and tirying to find an answer for four years now seem to have less hope
than those who have not. Dr. Oppenheimer said that we will find the
answer; the question is how much agony we have to go 'through be-
forehand. There is a strange paradox that at the end of the war the
democracies who did not put their faith in force ended up with the
greatest single condensed package of force. Our failure at that time
was to make clear wherein lies our real strength. Mr. LeBaron sug-
gested, that we can still make a clean breast of it, and Dr. Oppen-
heimer agreed, emphasizing that it will require eloquence, forceful
expression, and delicacy. The first thing, in any event, is to make an
understandable, honest statement with no sugar-coating. We must
have more political stability and we must have more diversity of
strength, but in addition we must have more recognition of what we
are. An act of honesty of this nature will -represent more than just giv-
ing out information; rather it will be an Aact that is typical of the
United States and it may have results which no one can foresee.
  With specific reference to making the facts known to the public,
Dr. Oppenheimer suggested that the drawing up of the speech or
document, or whatever was necessary, would require the full-time
services of a highly qualified group, and he suggested that perhaps
a group of people of the sort whom we are probably planning in
any event to have in as consultants would be the most helpful. He
specifically mentioned Messrs. Grenville Clark," John Lord O'Brian,9-
James B. Conant, and John Dickey.1° He suggested further that we
might say to such a group that the facts which have resulted from
our study are grim. We may have missed something or we may have
seen something from the wrong angle, but here are the facts as we
have developed them and your task is to prepare them for presentation
to the American people.

  The above represents the general train of Dr. Oppenheimer's
thought as brought out in this meeting and the paragraphs below are,
while relevant, of a more specific nature.
  Dr. Oppenheimer expressed the belief that we were over-doing
secrecy in the American Government with regard to technical infor-
mation and that it would have a great effect if we were to make more
technological information available so long as it was not of prime

  8Lawyer; Chairman of the Citizens Committee for National War Service,
1944-1945; Vice President, United World Federalists.
  9Lawyer; General Counsel, Office of Production Management and successor
organlizations, 1941-1944.
  10 President of Dartmouth College; Director of the Office of Public Information,
Department of State, 1944-1945.


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