March to Draft Board Vainly Seeks Eviction

About 100 followers and members of the Nonviolent Direct Action Group (NDAG) celebrated with cider and balloons yesterday the opening of a table in front of City Hall to help people find "socially meaningful work."

The NDAG intended to replace the draft board in City Hall with a Vocations for Social Change (VSC) office, but failed. The VSC will operate the table from 12 noon to 2 p.m. five days a week.

"The context of our campaign is the Vietnam war," Charles Fagar, a student at Harvard Divinity School and NDAG press spokesman, said. "We think the replacement of an instrument of death like the draft board with an alternative, life-affirming project like VSC is an occasion for all of us to celebrate."

An assistant to the City Manager had told NDAG member Arthur Fink that the draft board pays a token rent of one dollar per year to the City. When the NDAG offered to rent the present draft board room for that amount, Edward G. Seffilian, temporary city auditor, said that for the last twelve years rent for the room has been 75 dollars per month.

"We would be willing to pay that amount, although it should be up to the City to reconcile the misquoted figures," Fagar said.

John C. Corcoran, city manager, told an NDAG representative, "We have a lease with the Federal Government for that room. Neither party has offered to break the lease."

The NDAG march began at Govern-

ment Center in Boston with a visit to the office of Col. Paul Feeney, State Selective Service Director, "to inform him of the change and invite him to the grand opening ceremonies," Fagar said.

Feeney met with three NDAG representatives. Edward Lazar, representative of the American Friends Service Committee to the NDAG, said, "Feeney was very cordial, although he couldn't understand the relationship of the draft system to the Vietnam war. We explained to him that the draft makes aggression possible."

The NDAG marchers at first met closed doors at the draft board. After about five minutes, the doors reopened for normal business. There was no further attempt to enter by the NDAG. Remo Gaudin, Cambridge draft board member, said, "Just so long as men can continue to come here, we have no objection."

City officials denied a permit to set up the VSC table in front of City Hall. One NDAG member said, "If it involves civil disobedience to operate the table, then we may have to resort to it. Just what form it might take has not been decided."

Fagar said the VSC table would be operated indefinitely.