Schlesinger, Liberals Petition Ike Against Quemoy, Matsus Aid

A group of 47 "liberals," including Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. '38, professor of History, have urged President Eisenhower not to commit U.S. forces to the defense of Quemoy and the Matsus.

In a telegram sent to the President Wednesday, the group urged "immediate steps to extricate the United States and the world from the present menace of war in the Formosa Straits."

Schlesinger based his action on military, legal, and political ground. He said he backed United States pledges to defend Formosa and the neighboring Pescadores Islands, but he felt that Quemoy and the Matsus raised a different question. Formosa is in a relatively secure position, he said, but the United States would be at a military disadvantage in defending the Matsus, which are within artillery range of the Communist Chinese mainland, he added.

The United States would be "legally vulnerable" in defending the islands, Schlesinger said. He made a distinction between defending Formosa, which has long been separated from China, and defending the Matsus, which have always belonged to China. He felt that the United States could not legally defend the islands from their historic owner.

Believing that the islands' defense would be politically unwise, he felt that our allies might not support such an action, and that the United States might be left in an isolated position.