The political turmoil that swept the Yard last year has passed its peak so far as the number of active groups is concerned, but as anyone who passed through the registration line yesterday must know college politicians are getting set for their biggest push in years.
There are still 12 groups in the College, but eight of these are primarily for discussion, or are otherwise inactive as far as actual campaigning goes. This leaves the active campaigning to four groups three on the left, one on the right.
From left to right these will be the HYD (local subsidiary of AYD), the Harvard Committee for Wallace, The Liberal Union, and the Harvard Young Republican Club.
This is quite a comedown from a bare five months ago, however, when every major Republican candidate had at least some separate backing here, while the Democrats were split down the middle between Truman and Douglas. HLU jumped into the Democratic rift by backing Truman, but the Young Republican Club stayed aloof from any squabbling amongst their own members.
Active Campaign Programs
Now the Young Republicans are reconciled behind Dowey, and have an ambitious fall program lined up which includes a large variety of campaigning methods. Motorized speaking caravans, door-to-door canvassing with special emphasis on Representative Christian Herter's district, and weekly rallies featuring such speakers as National Committeeman Sinclair Weeks, Governor Robert F. Bradford '23, Senator Leverett Saltonstall '14, and Senator Wayne Morse of Oregon are the highlights of this program.
The HLU is concentrating its operations this fall chiefly against the three "anti-labor" referenda, on the Massachusetts ballot, figuring that pressure there will be more useful than it would be for any local candidate.
It is also preparing a slate of speakers for the month of October, with such luminaries of the liberal cause as Associate Professor Arthur M. Schlesingor, Jr., Thurman Arnold, Congressman John F. Kennedy '40, and Associate Professor Louis Hartz already signed up.
Also on the agenda are the usual
film series, a registration drive and a membership drive within the College walls. Radio debates on WHRV and elsewhere and joint meetings with the newly-chartered Radcliffe SDA round out the schedule.
The Committee for Wallace is like-wise concentrating their campaign on one issue--Waltor O'Brien's campaign to defeat Congressman Christian A. Herter '15. This movement gets under way Thursday night with a rally at which Professor F. O. Matthiessen and O'Brien will speak. Later they plan to undertake "an educational campaign to liberalize the Harvard campus," at which time they will reemphasize a program of rallies and song-fests.
HYD with Wallace
HYD can be counted on the join hands with the Committee for Wallace on almost all campaign issues, but both groups continue to emphasize that all similarity is purely coincidental.
The annual drive for membership was on yesterday at registration, and Republicans, Democrats, and Wallaceites all reported favorable results, although returns are still unofficial and far from complete. HYRC and HLU both claim to have more than compensated for losses by graduation last year, while the Wallace group has signed up 92 freshmen with an almost equal number of upperclassmen expressing interest
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