Dear Mr. McKenna:
Your letter shows that you are astoundingly ignorant. When you decide to criticize
me, you should first find out whether you know the facts.
Your letter begins with the sentence "I am curious concerning why you have not raised
your voice against Soviet atmospheric testing when you were so vociferous against
such testing by Americans."
This sentence could hardly be more incorrect than it is.
First, I have raised my voice against Soviet atmospheric testing.
Second, I was not vociferous against such testing by Americans, but rather against
all testing.
As to the first point, I enclose the statements that I gave to the news agencies on
31 August and 2 September (the latter a cable to Khrushchev) and my news release of
29 September. I also refer you to the two-page interview with me that was published
by U. S. News and World Report in their issue of 2 October 1961, and to my various
other published statements, including my articles in Frontier and other magazines.
As to the second, you clearly have not read my book No More War!, a flyer for which is enclosed, or you would know that I have strongly opposed nuclear
tests by all nations.
You probably have made the mistake of relying upon TIME magazine for your information.
This is a great mistake. TIME magazine had a copy of my statement of 31 August and
my cable of 2 September, but suppressed mention of them, and misrepresented my position
by saying only that I was opposed to American nuclear tests. I don’t know how the
American people, including you, can protect themselves against being deluded by unscrupulous
publishers. Again, let me urge that you try to find out the truth before writing
letters such as your letter of 17 October to me. It is helpful in this respect to
read some of the liberal magazines.
Yours truly,
[Linus Pauling]
