Message to the National Industrial Conference Board on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy.

[Released October 27, 1955. Dated October 24, 1955]

Members of the Conference:

On December 8, 1953, before the General Assembly of the United Nations, our Government pledged its determination to find ways by which the miraculous inventiveness of man shall not be dedicated to his death, but consecrated to his life. The pledge then voiced for the United States has become the law of our land.

Our progress in the field of peaceful uses of atomic energy is evident in many ways. Schools have been established for training students and professional men, including foreign nationals, in the science and technology of the atom. Atomic Energy Commission technical libraries, which have grown to tremendous size as a result of declassifying actions and which represent a vast fund of valuable information, have been distributed within the United States and to many countries abroad. The employment of radioisotopes has resulted in agricultural and industrial savings of hundreds of millions of dollars and even greater savings are promised for the future. The medical applications are increasing daily.

The establishment of an International Atomic Energy Agency now seems reasonably assured. Agreements for cooperation in the civil uses of atomic energy have been negotiated with 98 countries, and we have made available 900 kilograms of the rare isotope of uranium for use by those friendly countries in research reactors. The International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy in Geneva, the largest and most important scientific gathering ever held, was initiated by the United States.

First fruit is in sight in the field of nuclear power, and with the increasing leverage of the ingenuity of American industry applied to the problem, economically competitive nuclear power will become a reality.

There is no monopoly--and we seek no monopoly--in the harnessing of the atom for man's benefit. Rather, we seek to encourage participation in that task. In particular, we want the maximum participation of American industry. Our standard of living is a product of its tools and techniques. The magnitude of the return which can be realized by the application of those same tools and techniques to the new field of atomic energy is immeasurable.

Beyond that, there are loftier implications of the potential uses of atomic energy. The book of history reflects mankind's unceasing quest for peace. What more effective contribution could be made toward true world peace than the world-wide supplanting of want with plenty?

And what finer role in world history can we wish for our nation than that we seize our opportunity to make that contribution to civilization?

Sincerely,

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER