Part 33 (1/2)

Second, son policy so that it could handle the tremendous poe had suddenly had thrust upon us

The second was by far the most difficult and serious If ere to establish a reasonably perh a ht us, it was i than passing political administrations But more of that later-

The first problem had to be attended to at once-tiency lay in the very si but aircraft to scatter it and the dust itself, which was easily and quicklythe secret of the Karst-Obre process and having access to a s ore

But the Karst-Obre process was si reported to the President that it was Ridpath's opinion, concurred in by Manning, that the staff of any modern radiation laboratory should be able to work out an equivalent technique in six weeks, working froiven by the events in Berlin alone, and should then be able to produce enough dust to cause major destruction in another six weeks

Ninety days-ninety days provided they started frooal Less than ninety days-perhaps no ti was an unofficial member of the cabinet; ”Secretary of Dust,” the President called him in one of his rare jovial s, too As the only lay to end, the President wanted me there

I am an ordinary sort of man who, by a concatenation of improbabilities, found himself shoved into the councils of the rulers But I found that the rulers were ordinary men, too, and frequently as bewildered as I was

But Manning was no ordinary man In hienius Oh, yes, I know that it is popular to bla fro, but I still think he was both wise and benevolent I don't care how ree with in by ihout the world”

The Secretary of Co a little fantastic, Colonel Manning?”

”No, I' realistic The key to this problem is aircraft Without aircraft the dust is an inefficient weapon The only way I see to gain tiround all aircraft and put them out of operation All aircraft, that is, not actually in the service of the United States Army

After that we can deal with complete world disarmament and permanent methods of control”

”Really now,” replied the Secretary, ”you are not proposing that commercial airlines be put out of operation They are an essential part of world econo killed is an intolerable nuisance, too,” Manning answered stubbornly ”I do propose just that All aircraft All”

The President had been listening without comment to the discussion He now cut in ”How about aircraft on which soroups depend to stay alive, Colonel, such as the Alaskan lines?”

”If there are such, they must be operated by American Army pilots and crews No exceptions”

The Secretary of Commerce looked startled ”Am I to infer from that last remark that you intended this prohibition to apply to the United States as well as other nations?”

”Naturally”

”But that's ihts”

Killing aanswered stubbornly

”You can't do it Any Federal Court in the country would enjoin you in fiveslowly, that Andy Jackson gave us a good precedent for that one when he told John Marshall to go fly a kite” He looked slowly around the table at faces that ranged froentle it out in the open We can be deadin due order, constitutional, and technically correct; or we can do what has to be done, stay alive, and try to straighten out the legal aspects later” He shut up and waited

The Secretary of Labor picked it up ”I don't think the Colonel has any corner on realism I think I see the problem, too, and I adain Had I known about it soon enough, it would never have been used on Berlin And I agree that some sort of world wide control is necessary But where I differ with the Colonel is in the method What he proposes is a military dictatorshi+p imposed by force on the whole world Ad?”

Manning did not dodge it ”That is what I a”

”Thanks Noe knohere we stand I, for one, do not regard democratic measures and constitutional procedure as of so little i to jettison them any time it becomes convenient To me, democracy is more than a o under with it”