Tocsin Leaders Say Cuban Situation Encouraged Changes in Orientation

"Tocsin sentiment is moving away from the positions and preoccupations of the traditional ban-the-bomb peace groups," Adam M. Hochschild '63, vice-chairman of Tocsin, said last night.

Todd A. Gitlin '63, chairman of the organization, agreed. John H. Ehrenreich '63, secretary, said the Tocsin position had "crystalized" rather than changed. "We are viewing the arms race in a broader context," Ehrenreich said.

The peace group officers also agreed on the importance of the Cuba crisis. Hochschild felt Tocsin's reaction to the crisis was symptomatic of the group's change in orientation.

He pointed out that earlier statements to which Tocsin had subscribed emphasized specific issues such as testing and civil defense. A statement entitled "No Other Cubas" which many Tocsin members distributed during the crisis took a less specific long-term view of the situation. According to Hochschild. "It emphasized the bankruptcy of the U.S. attitude toward social revolution."

Hochschild described the arms race and nuclear testing as symptoms of "broader economic and social problems which must be resolved before a lasting peace can be achieved." He cautioned that "the logic of the spiraling arms race must be checked before we blow ourselves up."

"Tocsin may still work for limited objectives such as appropriations for the Disarmament Agency through the Establishment," Gitlin said. "But the real pay-off, if there is to be one, must come from our program of community education."