Hughes Speaks in Cambridge Common

In between morning academic duties and an afternoon meeting of the History Department H. Stuart Hughes stopped at the Cambridge Common yesterday for some politicking.

About 350 people gathered on the baseball field to drink coffee, sing songs, and listen to their candidate. Three quarters them were students. "I don't know at this time if I'm a professor or a demagogue." Hughes began, in reference to criticism of his stand on Cuba. "I do know I'm the only Senatorial candidate who has a job."

Turning his attention to the Cuban crisis, Hughes said that "reason and moderation and the interests of humanity in the end prevailed," but reminded his audience that "the peril has been removed temporarily; the arms race continues."

To eliminate the danger of nuclear war, both sides ought to pledge not to use nuclear weapons in response to a conventional elimination of the "deadly peril" posed by overseas intermediate range missile bases, and said that the Russian people were threatened by our bases in Turkey in the same way that Americans been threatened by Soviet missiles in Cuba.

Hughes ended with a plea to "turn our minds toward the welfare of human being and said that the arms race and the poverty of the underdeveloped countries--not the threat of Communism--were the most important problems facing us. "Communism will disappear if poverty is eliminated," he declared.

After the speech, Noel Day, a social worker, led the crowd in singing "We Shall overcome," and Hughes, leaning against the battered blue sound truck behind home plate, shyly joined in. He then moved around the infield shaking hands, and told one woman that "the day after election day I'm going to start in on my work. I have a stack of Ph.d. theses that high to read," he said with a gesture of his hand.

Whatever the value of his words, Hughes addressed the group from one of the shakiest political platforms in history. Constructed of wood, it stood a majestic 18 inches off the ground, measured 2 1/2 by 4 feet, and was adorned with 11 balloons saying. "Vote peace; Vote Hughes."