A debate about the war in Vietnam degenerated into a war over the procedures of debate in the teach-in at Lowell Lecture Hall Sunday night.
Frank Rendell, of M.I.T.'s Center of International Studies, spoke first, supporting the Administration's stand in Vietnam. Henry Aiken, professor of philosophy at Brandeis, replied that withdrawal was necessary for our American conscience.
A few minutes into his speech, Aiken remarked that South Vietnam could not do a very good job of defending itself, and Rendell objected aloud. Rendell, a Briton who has spent a few years in Vietnam, told the audience from his seat behind the lectern that South Vietnam has the second strongest army in Southeast Asia.
Aiken, obviously upset by the interruption, offered the lectern to Rendell with a sweeping gesture of his hand. Rendell demurred, and there was an exchange of words the audience could not hear. Aiken finally decided he could not continue, so he took his seat next to Rendell, and the platform was left without a speaker.
Moderator Roland Warren, a Brandeis professor, strode to the microphone and suggested that both angry parties "take into consideration the different methods of debate in the U.S. and England."
While Warren was making his plea, the two men seemed to reach an understanding, and they announced that Rendell had apologized for interrupting and Aiken had accepted. Aiken returned to the lectern.
Withdrawal would lessen the size and importance of the military establishment in this country, Aiken said. "And the war leaves us with a bad conscience, such as I've not seen in my life." Throughout his speech, most of which he read, he emphasized the importance of peace in strengthening the collective American personality.
Rendell, on the other hand, had attacked this view as "almost racial." ("What you are saying is,) 'These people (the peasants in Vietnam) don't matter--what matters is my New England conscience.'"
Aiken, formerly a Harvard professor, did not disagree only with Rendell. He also attacked Thomas Boylston Adams, candidate for the Senate, who earlier in the evening advocated negotiations. "That is malarkey," Aiken roared. "We have two choices: fight or withdraw."
When Aiken finished, he shook hands with Rendell as the crowd cheered for some time. Aiken rose again to acknowledge the applause and quipped, "Maybe I should be running for the Senate."
Author William J. Lederer was invited to the platform by Alton B. Fry, a visiting member of the Center for International Studies, to answer a question about a mass exodus of North Vietnamese to the South. This movement, Lederer said, is often used to support the Administration policy. But actually some priests told North Vietnamese Catholics that Jesus and Mary now lived in South Vietnam, and the people believed it.
Edwin E. Moise, James B. Conant Professor of Education and Mathematics, told the audience that there must still be hope for America, if a President feels he has to delude his people with fairy tales. "If LBJ thinks the American conscience is not dead, then I cheer up and think perhaps it isn't."
At its peak, the five-and-a-quarter hour teach-in almost filled the bottom level of Lowell Lec, but by 11:30 p.m. there were perhaps thirty people left.
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