Kennedy Presents Plan For Peace

President Kennedy called for a step-by-step progression to complete disarmament, underscored the American position on Berlin, and repeated his country's opposition to the "troika" principle before the United Nations yesterday.

In Cambridge, faculty observers felt his speech combined national views, negotiable proposals, and propaganda in a manner exactly suited to the world forum of the U.N.

The most striking part of Kennedy's speech was a package of six steps leading to nuclear disarmament. These steps were: (1)a ban on nuclear testing; (2) a ban on production or transfer to unarmed nations of fissionable materials; (3) a ban on transfer of control over nuclear weapons to states that do not now own them; (4) an agreement to keep nuclear weapons out of outer space; (5) destruction of existing nuclear weapons; and (6) destruction of existing nuclear delivery vehicles, such as rockets or bombers.

Disarmament Measures Generous

Discussing Kennedy's six steps last night, Ernest R. May, associate professor of History, expressed surprise at the addition of the last four to the United States' accepted position. He described the package as "an extraordinarily generous negotiating principle," because it deals with nuclear weapons, in which the U.S. is stronger than Russia, and because it postpones discussion of conventional arms, in which the Soviet strength is greater. Thus, he felt, the Russians would gain by agreeing to the President's proposals.

Kennedy referred to complete, as opposed to nuclear, disarmament in vaguer but more rhetorical terms, demanding a "truce to terror" and saying that "together we shall save our planet--or together we shall perish in its flames." John N. Plank '45, assistant professor of Government and an expert on the United Nations, felt that "the propagandist line came through quite clearly there." But Plank added that Kennedy used the General Assembly "precisely as it should be used"--to persuade people rather than hammer out programs.

Both May and Plank, together with a third faculty member, Louis B. Sohn, professor of law, agreed that the General Assembly is a place to air one's country's views, and Kennedy did so in an emphatic manner.

"Trolka" Has One Driver

On the proposed reorganization of the U.N. secretariat, he said, "even the three horses of the troika did not have three drivers, all going in different directions. They had only one--and so must the United Nations executive."

He brought in the Berlin issue (which Sohn described as "not really relevant"), arguing, "The Western allies are not concerned with any paper agreement the Soviets wish to make with a regime of their own creation. No such action can affect either our rights or our responsibilities."

And he stressed that Russian satellite nations are as fully controlled as any of the oft-debated Western colonies.