"Optimistic" is the word best suited to describe the opinions of William L. Langer '15, Coolidge Professor of History and Arthur N. Holcombe '06, professor of Government as expressed to Freshmen and a scattering of Upperclassmen last night.

Just what has been happening in the world at large since last June was the subject on which the Student Union filled the Union's big Common Room to overflowing last night. Actually, the talks and resulting discussion ranged far beyond this.

Calls Self Undertaker

As Langer termed himself "an undertaker at a social gathering" and bemoaned the "increasing tendency towards lawlessness and barbarity" in the world at large, Holcombe discussed several possible angles of the Hugo Black case without ever expressing his own opinion.

Why won't this man (Black) answer simple questions unless he has something to conceal?", was the way the Government 1 head opened his discussion of the moment's most interesting news.

Feeling that very possibly the whole truth was not out, he neverthless felt that perhaps Black has "let slip the time for effectively challenging what may be a false truth or partial truth."

But what he saw that was so optimistic in the political position was that the whole trouble of the Supreme Court liberalization had been settled without packing the Court, an "irregular" procedure Professor Holcombe doesn't "believe is, unless absolutely necessary."

Langer "deflated"

Although Langer felt "thoroughly deflated by the genial sarcasm of my colleague", he proceeded to give a summary of European affairs high-spotted by minimizing the importance of the new Rome-Berlin axis.

"It is a working agreement," he declared, "which will be effective so long as these two powers find it to their in- terest to maintain it." He doubted if it would be any real interest of Hitler to support the Mediterranean interests of Mussolini. "If the British could bring themselves to return some of the conquered colonies to Germany," Langer feels that the Rome-Berlin axis would "probably crack."

Most dangerous element in Europe today--in the world today, he feels, is Italy's outspoken ambitions in the Mediterranean. There "British and French possessions are so important that they could ill afford, in the long run, to allow Mussolini to realize his aspiration.