Morse Assails False Conception Of Key Republican Party Stands

Congressman Brad Morse (R-Mass.) last night told the Harvard Young Republican Club that the GOP must alter its image of being "totally indifferent to human needs" if it is to become a majority party again.

One of two freshman Republican legislators who outran the Republican national ticket in 1960, Morse said the Democrats had successfully portrayed Republicans as people with "cash registers in their brains, and a ticker tape in their hearts."

Morse claimed the GOP's main problem was a wide public misunderstanding of its doctrines. But he indicated that Reepublican leaders must first clarify their own ideas of the party's purpose.

"I am a conservative," Morse said, "but what are we really trying to conserve?" A firm belief in individualism is the main tenet of conservatism, he asserted. He cited concern over national purpose and said, "The United States was created so men may live in liberty. If the Party has a purpose, it should be a dedication to the preservation and advance of freedom."

"A man is free," Morse continued, "when he has responsibility for the arrangement of his own affairs according to his own conscience. He said the Democrats had shown "disregard and disdain for, and lack of confidence in man's right to be responsible for his own actions."

Democrats "Irresponsible"

As a further example of the Democrats' "irresponsibility," he cited President Kennedy's unfulfilled promise of a civil rights bill which he made to Negro audiences during his campaign. Morse also condemned Kennedy's pre-election claim that national prestige was falling at "complete disregard for the well-being of the United States."

Morse detailed the critical problems the Republican Party must overcome in order to become a majority party. He asserted that the GOP must "define a positive position to overcome its negative image." For instance, he said, the Part must evaluate its position on medical care for the aged and not only oppose socialized medicine but also provide an alternative which will assist those people who cannot afford adequate medical care.