The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-02-23

State and Is now showing the interest 1t should in foreign affairs. It should be possible to take this mail, analyZe 1t, and so show what the American people are thinking about international relations and postwar world prob lens.
 On the theory that U. s. foreign policy is democratic thing, shaped on the beliefs and opinions of a ma jority of the people in this country and never going beyond policies which a majority of the American people would willingly support and fight for, you might think that the one place where a finger could be put on the public pulse for foreign policy determination would be in this spontaneous outpouring of ex- pression from the citizenry.
 THE PUBLIC DOES
 SOME THINKING
 Analysis of this mail today does show certain definite trends of pub- lie thinking on foreign relations. The war has of course heightened interest in such matters. And all the ruckuS kicked up over the ques- ton of Just what is our foreign policy?" has been healthy thing. stimulating the interest.
 Dumbarton Oaks proposals for a United Nations organization to maintain peace and security capped all this and today that is the num- Der one subject of interest in De- partment of State correspondence. There were B letters on this sub ject received in November. In Janu- ary 1t was 300. Tn the first week of February 1t was 300. The Crimea meeting of the Big Three and it's announcement that the full United Nations conference would meet in San Francisco in April are expected to send this volume soaring.
 The volume of mail - 125 900 let ters last year - is about one letter per 1000 inhabitants per year. If this volume is tripled this year, 1t still isn't good sampling because 1t comes only from & literate minority which has something particular bothering 1t. Gallup. Roper and other public opinion polls sample much smaller numbers on their questions, but they try to collect opinion from representative cross sections of all ages and classes, and that has been found more accurate than any voluntary expression of opinion.
 PRESSURE GROUPS
 EASILY RECOGNIZED
 Between 60 and 75 per cent of the State Departments public mail re- ceived in the past year has come from pressure groups organiza- tions that have some particular axe to grind and start a letter writing campaign to get 1t ground. All such pressure campaigns tend to defeat themselves. When you get 1000 post cards, telegrams or letters all say ing the same thing you know that somebody has started out to raise a little organized hell to get something that he wants. Usually the organiz- CTS of such crusades are easily recognizable.
 Perhaps two per cent of the mail is from crackpots people who have some pet panacea to cure all the worlds ills and want something done about it.
 There is sizable proportion of the mail seeking information, ask ing pertinent questions on specific issues. Thees questions have their value in showing what the public mind may be confused on.
 But right up at the top there is a two-to-five percent volume of spontaneous mail that must be most carefully evaiuated. Here, if any place. is the one dependable index on public thinking about foreign policy. Much of this mail comes from community leaders preach CTS, educators. lawyers. prominent club women.
 If you were to write letter to your governments Department of State to bawl them out or praise them on one of their foreign poli- cies, these are some of the ways in which your communication would be appraised.