Williams Warns Of Complacency In U.S. Thought

The people of the United States have not stood up and yelled "phoney" at the Eisenhower administration's dire warnings of inflation, the junior Senator from New Jersey charged last night in a rambling speech before the Harvard Young Democratic Club.

As a result the 86th Congress in its first session was faced with "a complacent country that doesn't care and a President who is afraid we'll go broke if we get decent urban renewal, adequate school facilities," and up-to-date public works, Harrison A. Williams, Jr., told the gathering of about 75 students and guests in the Lamont Forum Room.

Movement to counteract this apathy of the nation must start either at the grass roots or from the strong call of the President, he maintained, "but Eisenhower has fallen right into the complacent mood of the country."

"There is little on the home front to justify our complacency," Williams continued. Further, letters received by Congressmen are generally useless, he complained. He mentioned that on the labor reform question thousands of letters were received citing Jack Paar as an authority.

Earl G. Latham '30, visiting professor of Government, in a brief talk preceding Williams' address, questioned whether Congress had provided the decisive liberal leadership which was predicted when a large margin of Democrats was elected in 1958. Williams later held that the constant complaint of "inflation" put a damper on everything the Congress sought.

Speculating on next year's Presidential race, Williams named the governor of his state, Robert Meyner, as one of the two or three top possibilities, "although it doesn't show in the popularity polls now."