College Pacifists Plan Move Against Action in Indochina

Undergraduate pacifists, concerned that the fighting in Indochina may be a prelude to World War III, are planning to let the country knew immediately that Harvard students are solidly against U.S. intervention in the South Asian conflict.

The Fellowship of Reconciliation, a 20-member student pacifist organization, will meet Monday and probably decide to circulate a petition in the Houses against U.S. involvement in Indochina. College students must express their opposition to the fighting now, the pacifists fell, because the Federal Administration is currently "attempting to feel out American opinions for or against intervention."

Signed petitions from College students would be sent to Congress "to help bolster the forces against Indochina intervention," said Edward A. French '54, president of the pacifists' group.

Explaining his organization's view of the French-Vietminh conflict, French said that the way to solve the problem "is obviously not by putting more tanks and gains." But any kind of a desirable solution seems improbable, he added "so long as the Communists insist that their forces gain all the land they're after."

F.O.R. Opposes All Wars

Pacifists here are against all war in general, French said, but oppose particular military actions like that in Indochina on specific grounds. "We wish to keep this country out of more situations which could lead to a major conflict."

The Fellowship of Reconciliation, a regular Dean-approved and Faculty-sponsored student organization, is the successor of last year's group called Students For Non-Violent Action. Although operating under the same constitution used by the S.N.V.A., the new group tends a little more toward pacifism through Christianity.

This year's organization, like its predecessor, maintains a policy that its members must be, or intend to be, conscientious objectors to military service. But some of the members object to fighting on moral, rather than religious, grounds and have thus been in trouble with their selective service boards. Local draft boards may classify men "I.O." only if they have religious basis for objection to war.