Pages 72-75 from Truman. Papers of Harry S Truman. President's Secretary's Files. Box 174

This document is a letter from the Secretary of the Treasury to the President, expressing their views on sharing scientific information about the atomic bomb with other countries. The Secretary argues against revealing the information at the present time due to the relations and attitudes existing among nations. They believe that if other scientists can easily replicate or surpass the United States' development, it would be a significant loss to reveal the information. The Secretary questions the effectiveness of sharing the information for promoting world peace, citing the historical lessons from World War I and the Washington Disarmament Conference. They express the importance of compulsory military training and believe that giving up the atomic bomb secrets would hinder the possibility of implementing such training. The Secretary emphasizes the lack of a quid pro quo in revealing the information and highlights the secretiveness of the USSR as an example. They argue that pooling military information should only be considered once other nations are willing to disclose their own information. The Secretary also mentions the potential risks if smaller nations discover shortcuts to atomic development and the fact that Germany and Japan did not develop the atomic bomb. They conclude by stating that, under the current circumstances, it is not viable to reveal the atomic bomb secrets and highlight the potential risks and lack of support from the American people.