Not Many Worry About War, Says Stouffer in 'Look'

Only eight percent of the American people are "worried most" about war and other world problems, Samuel A. Stouffer, professor of Sociology, reported in an article appearing in the March 22 issue of Look Magazine.

Stouffer, chairman of a group that directed a pall of 6,500 Americans last summer, pointed out that in addition only one percent of the public listed Communists or restricted civil liberties among their general worries. Almost none of those concerned about Communism had any idea of what a Communist was.

The poll, conducted under a grant from the Fund for the Republic, showed that an overwhelming majority of Americans were worried solely about personal problems. Another nine percent said they never worried about anything.

Americans Are Pessimistic

Slightly pessimistic about the long-rung chances of stopping the Communists from taking over the rest of Europe and Asia without a world war, those polled overwhelmingly favored fighting the Russians as a last resort. But, Stouffer said, "the American people are not trigger-happy. They want to avoid war if possible." Sixty-one percent still wanted the U.S. to try to talk things over with Russia to settle the problem.