THE U. N. RECORD

DIRECTOR

NINE years ago, on June 26, 1945, the United Nations was created, as the result of a general belief, indeed conviction, that all the world could sit down together like good neighbors and map out the way to a better future. The lessons of the "lost peace" of a quarter century earlier were nowhere studied more carefully than in the United States, and the teachers, advisers, civic leaders who went to San Francisco came home as apostles of a new creed.

The Conference, so it was felt, had truly passed through a Golden Gate of World Peace. The Charter of the United Nations sailed through the Senate within a month, 89-2, and with no reservations. The country at large, and most people everywhere, pinned their hopes on the U. N., and dissenting opinion was no larger than in the Senate - except perhaps in the Kremlin, which had begun to lose interest in cooperation some months before.

Great as were the expectations, people realized that the Charter might not work perfectly, and so its Chapter 18 provided for amendments, to be prepared either by the General Assembly or a special conference, and to be ratified by a two-thirds vote which must include all permanent members of the Security Council. If no conference had been held before 1955, the question of having one must be considered, and so the next meeting of the General Assembly, later this year, must discuss the issue, and may call an amending conference by a majority vote.

Many are already at work on the problems created by this situation. Shall a conference be called? Shall the Charter be left as it is? If not, what changes should be made? Here in Hanover a weekly study group - townspeople, students, faculty - has been considering these things; in Wilmington, Delaware, a similar group has hundreds at each meeting; there are many others. In the Department of State the planners are busy, and in half a hundred other foreign offices. Certainly Hanover Holiday can well add its share - and will this June - to this most important topic.

The series will start as usual on the Monday after Commencement, June 14, and run morning and evening through Thursday, June 17. For the first meeting, Monday morning, there should be an explanation of why and how the Charter was drawn up in its present form, of what it was intended to do and how people hoped it would work. Fortunately Prof. John W. Masland of the Government Department can do that, in "High Hopes at San Francisco, 1945." While still on the faculty at Stanford, he worked in the State Department with the group that prepared the draft charter for Dumbarton Oaks, and then served on the Secretariat at San Francisco, so he can speak with authority on his subject. Since coming to Dartmouth in 1946 he has been Director of Studies for two years at the National War College, and has written extensively in his field of international relations.

One great hope for the U. N. was that it would provide a framework within which the great powers could operate amicably and settle their differences. How well has this worked out? That is the talk for Monday evening, "The United States, the United Nations, and the U.S.S.R." by Prof. John C. Adams of the History Department. Professor Adams, who came here from Princeton in 1941, is well known to Dartmouth graduates since then for his courses in recent European history and Russian foreign relations, courses famous for their brilliant lecturing and high standards.

The U. N. was expected to solve economic as well as political difficulties. Tuesday morning Prof. Daniel Marx '29 of the Economics Department takes up "The U. N. and the Undeveloped Areas," to show what has been done for parts of Asia, Africa, Latin America, as an interesting sample of this side of U. N. activity. The Holiday, through its staff of investigators, spotted this talk when it was given, slightly different, to the Great Issues course. Professor Marx, after a few years in business, moved gladly into teaching, but took off time, for two years with ECA in Paris, and one year at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, to acquire a varied experience in international relations. On a Rockefeller Foundation grant, he is now engaged in a special research job in connection with developing these areas and raising their living standards.

After these two case studies of U. N. accomplishments, it is possible to look at the record more broadly. How well has the U. N. in fact been able to work as people hoped, how much has it got done? Prof. H. Gordon Skilling of the Government Department is scheduled for Tuesday evening with "The U. N. - A Charter for Peace?" Professor Skilling is a graduate of the University of Toronto, a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, and a Ph.D. from the University of London. Before coming to Dartmouth in 1947, he taught at Wisconsin and ran broadcasts to Europe for the British Broadcasting Co.; since coming here, he has both studied and taught at the Russian Institute of Columbia University, and written many articles on international relations. The Holiday has tried to get Professor Skilling before; this year it has succeeded.

If the program so far sounds as though everybody is in complete agreement on the U. N., the truth is otherwise. Certainly there are several paths for us to consider, in searching for national security, and several ideas for improving the U. N. Wednesday morning is set for one of these, "The Atlantic Community," by Prof. Herbert W. Hill of the History Department. It has at times been suggested to the Holiday that it secure this speaker, but here too the effort has not been successful until this year. (This is written as objectively as possible.) Professor Hill, who has been at Dartmouth since 1928 (or so long he almost thinks he graduated from the College), has been chiefly interested in the diplomatic history of the United States. In 1951-52 he was planning adviser to the Assistant Secretary for European Affairs, in the State Department, and is now on the Board of Governors of Atlantic Union.

For Wednesday evening a rather special talk has been arranged. So far none of the speakers has had close, personal contact with the U. N., and somewhere in the series that needed to be remedied. Charles Bolté '41 has promised to give the Holiday two days from his New York office, and on Wednesday evening he will talk on "The U. N. - Behind the Scenes," dealing with some of the daily problems, the personalities, the working out of policies, as he saw it all when Adviser on Security Council and General Affairs to the U. S. Mission to the U. N., 1949-52. Before this, Mr. Bolté had a wide and varied experience, as a Senior Fellow here, as a lieutenant in the British Army, in the Office of War Information, as a Rhodes Scholar, as head of the American Veterans Committee, and as a writer, with a keen interest in world affairs. The Holiday is pleased to include him with the other distinguished alumni who have been on its program.

We are no less pleased to announce the speaker for Thursday morning, Dudley Orr '39 of Concord, New Hampshire, a Trustee of the College since 1941. Anyone who knows New Hampshire knows Mr. Orr as one of its busiest citizens, genuinely concerned with many educational or charitable institutions and head of a leading law office. But in all this he is merely carrying on as he did here 25 years ago, as president of his class. With all this on his hands, he has still found time to become an authority on international problems, and even to travel abroad in 1952 to study public opinion on world peace and disarmament. In this he has been associated with Grenville Clark of Dublin, New Hampshire, and with Robert Reno '34, his own law partner. His subject will be "Disarmament, the Key to Peace."

Since complete agreement could hardly be expected on such controversial topics, either among the speakers or between speakers and audience, Thursday evening the series will end with a panel discussion, with all the speakers present to restate their positions, challenge each other, and take on those of the audience who have questions left over from the earlier sessions. As the leader for this panel discussion the Holiday is fortunate to have Prof. John G. Gazley of the History Department. Professor Gazley has been chairman of international relations studies at Dartmouth and in 1952 was on the faculty of the National War College.

That is the program - one of the best for a long time, dealing with a vital issue and offering much stimulation. There will be plenty of time to use the Library or the golf course. The Hanover Inn, one of the newer dormitories, Thayer Hall, and the Outing Club House will provide food and lodging. There is no increase in cost (the tuition fee, for example, is only $5.00). It would be a good vacation - wives, children, friends always welcome.

HANOVER HOLIDAY DIRECTOR: Herbert W. Hill, Professor of History, who will be one of the faculty lecturers on the United Nations in addition to serving as general chairman of the "alumni college" in Hanover, June 14-17.