Navy Will Check 'Informer Clause' To Determine Correct Application

Telegrams and other inquires--some from Harvard groups--may result in defection or modification of the Navy loyalty oath's so-called "informer clause," Rear Admiral J. W. Roper, Chief of Naval Personnel, told the CRIMSON yesterday.

In a wire sent over the weekend, Roper said:

"In view of your telegram and other recent inquiries, a study is now being made to ascertain whether continuation or modification of the words 'others similarly associated or acing' is necessary or desirable."

Roper was replying to a CRIMSON telegram sent last week requesting official Navy interpretation of the last section of the loyalty oath that all Navy men, including, College Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps members and applications are required to fill out.

The clause requires that Navy men name "others," besides themselves, they have seen at functions of groups listed by the Justice Department as subversive.

Navy Unsure

In Washington last night, Roper explained that even the Navy is unsure of the proper interpretation and application of the clause.

The oath, Roper said, was originally written by a. Joint Committee of all the armed services and intended primarily for men inducted in time of mobilization. Because current application of the disputed clause differs throughout the three service branches. Navy administrators will meet "in a day or so to determine if the language of the clause is proper for everybody," Roper stated.

Roper indicated that the clause now seems too indefinite for interpretation and application. Any conclusions reached at the forthcoming meetings over the problem, however, would take immediate effect.

Inquires Received

For some time, the Navy Department has been receiving inquiries about the clause, although they have come mainly from individuals and not organizations, Roper said. As a result, he added, Navy officials have been trying to arrange a study of the question. Until now "it has been impossible to get the right people together," according to the Admiral.

None of the Harvard groups that recently voted to take action on the informer clause issue have received replies to their letters to Washington. These groups include the Student Council, the American Veterans Committee chapter, and the Liberal Union, all of whom have been studying the matter.