"Throwing human grit into the gears is the only thing that can stop the way machine," a sophomore and two fellow Polaris protest marchers asserted last night. The three were among 53 who started from Kittery, Maine, to the United Nations in New York in protest of the Portsmouth, N.H., missile base.

Gene S. Keyes '63, Michael Itkin, a bishop of the Free Catholic Church, and Peter Salmon, a field worker for the Fellowship for Reconciliation, stressed the role of passive resistance in preventing the annihilation of civilization.

Claiming that "time is running out," the trio argued that their "willingness to take risks in civil disobedience" has a profound effect in creating awareness of the arms race danger.

While the movement shuns physical violence, protestations often involve participants in minor infractions. The speakers noted that positive measures taken in such cases often create a desirable martyr impression.

Attraction of attention plays the major part in the efforts of pacificst groups they added. Publicity greatly magnified the vital of activities ranging from missile ground pickets to naval yard "invasion." In fact, the speakers agreed that the "silent treatment" would probably provide the most effective opposition to their program.

Organizations like the Committee for Nonviolent Action, of which Keyes and Itkin are members, perform essential functions in nation-wide attempts to abolish the arms development contest. Already their demonstrations against the Omaha, Neb., missile ground and protests against nuclear submarines have attracted national attention.

In addition to the Maine New York trip, the CNVA has also sponsored an expedition from California to Moscow. Locally, members have scheduled a demonstration against a Polaris frigate presently nearing completion in Quincy.