What Will The Atomic Bomb

Do To Islands?

Letter to the Editor A FEW months ago I drew attention to the possible devastating affect the atomic bomb experiments in the Marshall Islands, in July, may have on the whole chain of coral atolls ex tending from Bakini, in the Marshalls, to Nurakita, at the southern end of the Ellice Islands.

Apparently our American friends are absolutely indifferent as to what may happen to the thousands of very fine natives that inhabit these islands, so long as their experiments go on.

The late Sir Edgeworth David, when Professor David, proved at Funafuti, in the Ellice Islands, that all these atolls are only coral, built up on the tops of mountains, which are some 2,000 to 3,000 ft. below the surface; so one does not need to have much imagination to pic ture at least some of these coral atolls being completely knocked off their pin nacles by the concussion which, we are told, will be tremendous —so tremendous indeed as to surpass the imagination of man.

In conclusion: Are we to assume that the great powers have, as I said in the beginning of this letter, no consideration for these Islanders; or is it that we have been reading just a lot of traslj in the press, to sell their papers, and that the Americans know the limits and propor tions of the atomic bomb explosions?

I am, etc.,

Supercargo.

Sydney.