Q. What about the Newspapers? All the dispatches say that the South Koreans are fighting hard and the North Koreans are giving up more easily.
A. It depends which newspapers y o u read. I've read that MacArthur is considering censoring news openly. It's obvious that some of this is going on. It's difficult to see what's happening.
Q. Why did so many South Koreans try to escape the Communists then?
A. I think they were trying to escape from war.
Beveridge pointed out that these were only his own views, and that he hadn't yet talked with other YP members. But, he predicted, "Most of them won't string with Wallace, I don't think there will be any trouble in the club ranks."
He also predicted that the club would gain members, not lose them, this year. Most of the new blood will be inactive progressives stirred up by the pressure of world events, "But some will be converts," Beveridge said.
"I think we'll gain members when people see the danger resulting from a war," he added. "They'll be more inclined to come to a political organization and make their weight felt.
"The war is unpopular now, especially among future draftees. A lot of people are seared and want to do something. Some opposition is needed at the college."
Public Debates
Beveridge said he hoped this opposition would form early in the term, with an evening debate open to the public.
Besides YPH and JRC, the College has only one other left-of-Democrats political group. The Society for Industrial Democracy has customarily favored socialism but attacked Communist Russia for being totalitarian.
Outgoing President Stephen J. Seligman '52, said last week that "the Communist invasion of South Korea is gruesome verification of the dangers of the Soviet totalitarian regime.
"The present need for military forces to oppose aggression must not allow us to forget, however, that the guarantee of political freedom, of economic stability, and of social justice is also necessary for the prevention of totalitarianism.
"Our previous record in Korea was poor in promoting these guarantees. We must convince the people of Korea that we are prepared to treat them as equals in the solution of our common problem."
Seligman also pointed out that these were merely his own views, but that "all liberal groups would agree" with at least the first part of the statement. He added that "nothing in Korea is inconsistent with Russia's previous methods.
Every one of the interviewees said had heard that YP and JRC had been banned from the College during the summer and would not be allowed to return this fall as recognized organizations According to the Dean's Office, the rumor is completely without basis.