Letter from Lawrence Hammer to President Harry S. Truman

LAWRENCE H. HAMMER Zile bowl pais 58 West 105th. St. New York 25 Con H February 15, 1950 Hon. Harry S. Truman President of the United States Blair House Washington, D.C. Mr. President: HARRY MICHIVES AND TRUMAN LIBRARY SERVICE GOVE I have read the statement made by Mr. Atcheson in which he said that it is impossible to trust the Soviet Union and hence it has become necessary to continue the "Cold War" and to build more Atom & Hydrogen Bombs. Mr. President, I am just an ordinary person, not a re- presentative of any group of citizens, just someone who wants to live in peace and maké a decent living. Perhaps my attitude is typical for millions of Americans. Believe me, we are tired of being taught to hate other nations, are tired of listening to these tirades on the radio or reading about them in our daily press. We are tired of paying taxes, not for decent constructive purposes but for the building of more and more deadly weapons. Together with many religious and civic organizations, I ask you to stop this insane armament race. There is no use in spending billions of dollars on the Hydrogen Bomb knowing that the Soviet Union might be in a position to build the same weapon or even deadlier ones. It is up to you, Mr. Truman to get together with the heads of the Russian government and work out a scheme whereby peace can be assured. In November 1948, the American people elected you because they hoped that you would change the situation towards Peace, Social Legislation, and Civil Rights. What has been accomplished to far ?