W. Y. Elliot Criticizes Lattimore as Symbol In Debate on U.S. Foreign Policy in Far East

William Y. Elliott last night attacked Owen Lattimore as a symbol of the liberals' distorted attitude which made pro-Communist sympathies a criterion of liberalism. Elliott, Williams Professor of History and Political Science, made this charge at a U.N. Council forum in Paine Hall.

Benjamin I. Schwartz '38, assistant professor of History, evaluated Lattimore's major importance as his awakening of the public to the importance of the far eastern area. He and Edwin O. Reischauer, professor of Far Eastern Languages, agreed that although many of Lattimore's observations were mistaken, even a bad policy was better than none.

Elliot was joined in is opposition to Johns Hopkins professor by William H. Chamberlin far eastern correspondent. Chamberlin attacked violently two popular conceptions of Lattimore as an objective scholar in an ivory tower and as an active anti-Communist.

According to Reischauer, Lattimore's importance as a formulator of foreign policy was greatly exaggerated, he it, could be responsible for as much influence as has been attributed to the F. Eastern consultant.