Fairbank Says US Should Recognize Communist China

The U.S. should send troops into Indo China if it can wage a war of containment and not a total war, John K. Fairbank '29, professor of History, told a Reunion symposium yesterday.

Speaking in a question and answer period following a three man discussion of Harvard's Near and Far East Research Programs, Fairbank also advocated the recognition of Communist China, although claiming it would probably not help the world situation appreciably.

"I recommended recognition in 1949 and I still think it would be worthwhile. But I don't think it will gain us very much now. It would be a mistake to think one legal move can solve this whole problem," Fairbank said.

Sheep and Snake

Asked whether McCarthy has weakened the State Department, Fairbank termed the Wisconsin Senator a symptom. "The intellectuals are sheep hypnotized by a snake. The loss of China gave the United States a sense of insecurity. It is this lack of self-confidence which McCarthy can prey upon. The thing to worry about is not McCarthy, but the American people."

Richard N. Frye, assistant professor of Middle Eastern Studies, referring to a new research program for the Near East charged that there must be a new emphasis upon the non-material aspects of these countries, and that scholars must delve into the past histories and problems instead of superficially brushing current political and economic problems.

The third speaker, William L. Langer, Coolidge Professor of History, described the projects of the Russian Research Center.