National Affairs: On U.S. Terms

Seven days after President Eisenhower proposed a one-year suspension of U.S. nuclear-weapons tests, Nikita Khrushchev accepted the U.S. terms: high-level political talks, beginning Oct. 31, on a foolproof world network of listening posts to detect any nuclear explosions.

In his acceptance of the U.S. terms, Khrushchev naturally found time to pitch a little propaganda hay. He denounced the U.S. and Britain for continuing tests as long as they have—six months after Russia unilaterally "suspended" its nuclear-weapons testing. He completely ignored the fact that Russia's suspension came only after completion of one of the biggest, atomically "dirtiest," tests in human history—one whose scientific results could not possibly be compiled in less than a year. Khrushchev's blast had little apparent effect; the U.S., in fact, went ahead with its plans for ten small atomic shots in the Nevada desert before the Oct. 31 cutoff date.