Elmer Davis Details Threats To Survival of Civilization

Besides Davis, five other men were elected to honorary membership yesterday. They are Dr. James B. Ayer '03, well-known neurologist; John N. Burk '16, music historian; Mark A. DeWolfe Howe '28, professor of Law; Francis Keppel '38, dean of the Graduate School of Education; and Frederick R. Weed '28, headmaster of Roxbury Latin.

Western civilization is worth saving to everybody but Joe McCarthy, news analyst Elmer Davis declared at yesterday's annual literary exercises of the Harvard Phi Beta Kappa Chapter.

Speaking before a large crowd in Sanders Theatre which included newly elected PBK members, Davis compared our democracy to the Roman civilization and concluded that if this country collapses it will be the fault of the Wisconsin senator rather than Russian MIG's.

"I didn't think Stalin could lick us and I don't think Malenkov can lick us. But McCarthy and the spirit of McCarthy can lick us--by getting us to fight among ourselves likes the Romans, by persuading every man that he must keep on looking over his shoulder to make sure that the man beside him doesn't stab him in the back."

Davis, who was elected to honorary membership in the chapter earlier in the morning, added that "there is still enough vitality in Western Civilization to save us unless we insist on disemboweling our- selves."

"Our faults, God knows, are numerous and glaring enough," he said, "and recognition of those faults is the chief cause of the loss of confidence that has afflicted so many people of the Western World. But we do recognize them; we do not pretend that our failures were decreed by historical necessity; nor do we rewrite history according to the percepts of Doublethink to prove that they never happened at all. What we have to offer is a method and the freedom of mind that makes the method possible."

The following undergraduates were elected to Phi Beta Kappa yesterday:

Marshall Baker, Physics; Normal Bauman, Mathematics; Stephen Benjamin, Government; John S. Dowman, English; Kenneth S. Brand, Physics; Harold O. J. Brown, Germanic Languages and Literatures; Jackson M. Bruce, Jr., History; Gordon L. Brumm, Philosophy and Social Relations; James C. Chace, Romance Languages and Literatures; Thomas J. Chinlund, Applied Science; George L. Christopher, Economics; Stanley L. Cohen, Classics and History; John T. Coughlin, History; Peter F. Curran, Biochemical Sciences;

Daniel Deykin, History and Literature; Clement J. Dore, Jr. English; Joseph A. Dubay, Mathematics; Joseph L. Durham, Government; Maurice J. Elovitz, Romance Languages and Literatures; Thomas E. Everhart, Physics; Gerald P. Fitzgerald, Latin; Paul Fruit, Economics; Paul W. Gabler, History; Sumner J. P. Germain, English; Gordon J. Gilbert, Biology; Walter Gilbert, Chemistry and Physics; Thomas J. Gill, 3d, Chemistry; Samuel V. Gilman, Jr., History; Mark L. Goodman, History and Literature.

Hunter G. Hannum, Germanic Languages and Literatures; Emanuel S. Hellman, Applied Science; John T. Hexner, Economics; Hugh F. Houston, Jr., English; Thomas W. Hoya, Government; William H. Jacobsen, Jr., Linguistics and Romance Languages; Samuel E. Karff, Social Relations; Hugh P. Kelly, Physics; Masaaki Kubo, Classics and Sanskrit; Stephen Kurzman, Philosophy; Henry J. Landau, Mathematics; Robert B. Layzer, History and Literature; Robert G. Livingston, History;

John H. Mahan, Biochemical Sciences; Burton G. Malkiel, Economics; M. Joel Mandelbaum, Music; James W. Mason, English; Ralph N. Maud, English; Paul T. McElroy, Physics; Abbott R. Miller, Chemistry; Bruce H. Morgan, Physics; Ivan Nabokoff, English; John R. O'Brien, Government; Roger S. Peterson, Biology; Stephen R. Petschek, History and Literature; Glen A. Rebka, Jr., Physics; Walter R. Reitman, Slavic Languages and Literatures; Richard L. Renfield, Slavic Languages and Literatures; Rodman D. Rhodes, English; Robert Rosenman, Government;

Lee A. Segel, Mathematics; Daniel W. Seitz, Classics and History; Donald L. Shapiro, Biology; Clayton L. Sommers, Economics; Marshall S. Spiller, Fine Arts; Stephen Stamatopulos, Government; Mark E. Stephenson, Jr., Applied Science; Robert H. Stewart, Government; Lawrence M. Stone, Economics; George L. Sutton, Government; Louis Tiger, Jr., Physics; James A. Urdan, Social Relations; Richard J. Wagman, Biology; Sylvan R. Weiner, History and Literature; Peter T. Westegaard, Music; Robert P. Wolff, Philosophy; Robert A. Woods, History; Irving Yoskowitz, English; Eugene Zack, Biochemical Sciences; Arnold J. Zurcher, Jr., Government.

Also announced yesterday was the appointment of Frank S. Ham '50, a freshman proctor, as chapter secretary succeeding Judson T. Shaplin '42 8G, Director of Freshman Scholarships, who has served in the post for six years