Mason, Edsall Assert Growing Necessity For Birth Control

The opinions of President Eisenhower, the Catholic Church, and Senator John F. Kennedy '40 on the controversial issue of birth control drew criticism yesterday from two professors.

Edward S. Mason, George F. Baker Professor of Economics, described over-population as a "terribly serious problem," one that cannot be solved adequately without some measure of birth control. Representatives of the Catholic Church have argued recently that alternative measures would prove adequate.

Mason, who teaches a course on the problems of underdeveloped nations, pointed out that India and Pakistan both recognize the need for "family planning." Although it would be "very wrong for the United States to press its ideas on other nations," he commented, America should not refuse help if it is requested. President Eisenhower recently rejected this idea.

In a letter written yesterday to the New York Times, John T. Edsall '23, professor of Biological Chemistry, rejected the suggestion made by some Roman Catholic bishops that emigration from overcrowded nations constitutes a feasible alternative to birth control.

Estimates of agricultural experts hold out little hope that food supply can be increased as fast as population has been growing, according to Edsall.