Orderly Sanders Theatre Crowd Hears Capp, Kelly

"It's about five to nine," Walt Kelly told an orderly crowd of 700 in Sanders Theater last night, "and there just isn't much you can say about humor and its role in international relations."

But that made little difference, for neither he nor Al Capp, the other speaker in a forum sponsored by the Harvard-Delhi Student project, laid any claims to omniscience in foreign affairs.

"My strip has been well-received in translation," Capp explained. "They're even holding a Scherezade Hawkins Day in Portugal. But three times the English have risen as a man to protest against Li'l Abner. I know nothing about international affairs. Try my translators."

"The only international relations I've had were with the French maid next door," Kelly added.

After noting the historical fact that Kelly had caused a slight furor on his last appearance here in 1952, Capp settled down to the business at hand. "We all know what we're here for," he said. "We're here to raise money to louse up those happy natives in Delhi.

When they ran out of things to say, the two speakers opened the floor for questions. "I would like to ask Mr. Capp," a student said, "what he regards as the proper role of humor in Cambridge city government." Mr. Capp said that he hoped to remain in Cambridge for a while, but that he thought humor certainly should continue to play a large part in the city government.

Then a small, sincere bird-keeper asked, "Mr. Capp, do you think a bird could win the presidential election--say a stork-like bird?"

"I wish I could say I don't know what you're talking about," Capp replied, "but I'm afraid I do. I don't think we could run him for president, but I'm sure we could run another bird for vice-president."

"The question is not who's for president, but who's for vice," Kelly added.