We have no reason to think that the stage we have now reached in the release of atomic energy will be the last.  Indeed, the speed of our scientific and technical progress over the last seven years shows no signs of abating.  We are being hurried forward, in our mastery of the atom, from one discovery to another, toward yet unforeseeable peaks of destructive power.

Inevitably, until we can reach international agreement, this is the path we must follow.  And we must realize that no advance we make is unattainable by others, that no advantage in this race can be more than temporary.

The war of the future would be one in which man could extinguish millions of lives at one blow, demolish the great cities of the world, wipe out the cultural achievements of the past—­and destroy the very structure of a civilization that has been slowly and painfully built up through hundreds of generations.

Such a war is not a possible policy for rational men.  We know this, but we dare not assume that others would not yield to the temptation science is now placing in their hands.

With that in mind, there is something I would say, to Stalin:  You claim belief in Lenin’s prophecy that one stage in the development of communist society would be war between your world and ours.  But Lenin was a pre-atomic man, who viewed society and history with pre-atomic eyes.  Something profound has happened since he wrote.  War has changed its shape and its dimension.  It cannot now be a “stage” in the development of anything save ruin for your regime and your homeland.

I do not know how much time may elapse before the communist rulers bring themselves to recognize this truth.  But when they do, they will find us eager to reach understandings that will protect the world from the danger it faces today.

It is no wonder that some people wish that we had never succeeded in splitting the atom.  But atomic power, like any other force of nature, is not evil in itself.  Properly used, it is an instrumentality for human betterment.  As a source of power, as a tool of scientific inquiry, it has untold possibilities.  We are already making good progress in the constructive use of atomic power.  We could do much more if we were free to concentrate on its peaceful uses exclusively.

Atomic power will be with us all the days of our lives.  We cannot legislate it out of existence.  We cannot ignore the dangers or the benefits it offers.

I believe that man can harness the forces of the atom to work for the improvement of the lot of human beings everywhere.  That is our goal.  As a nation, as a people, we must understand this problem, we must handle this new force wisely through our democratic processes.  Above all, we must strive, in all earnestness and good faith, to bring it under effective international control.  To do this will require much wisdom and patience and firmness.  The awe-inspiring responsibility in this field now falls on a new Administration and a new Congress.  I will give them my support, as I am sure all our citizens will, in whatever constructive steps they may take to make this newest of man’s discoveries a source of good and not of ultimate destruction.