Nat'l Group Asks Candidates' Stand On McCarran Act

A University theologian, along with 74 initiators and sponsors of the National Committee to Repeal the McCarran Act, yesterday made public an Open Letter to Congressional candidates asking them to make an official declaration of their stand concerning the McCarran Act.

William E. Hocking '01, Alford Professor of Natural Religion, Moral Philosophy and Civil Polity, Emeritus, signed the letter which pointed out that the McCarran Act "is responsible for the intolerable situation in which Government agencies, in a manner all too reminiscent of Nazi Germany, are already preparing concentration camps, are holding thought-control hearings, are denying passports to citizens, and are deporting and refusing admission to aliens."

Believing that the McCarran Act 'violates all basic American democratic traditions," the group of educators, religious leaders, and professional people appealed to the Congressional candidates because they felt "the issue raised by the McCarran Act and its enforcement is one of the most vital in the forthcoming elections."

Among the signers of the Open Letter were Dr. Frank Aydelotte, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton: Robert Redfield. Professor of Anthropology at the University of Chicago; and Professor Robert S. Lynd.