City Council Defeats Lynch Proposal to Investigate ISA

City Councillor John D. Lynch was defeated almost unanimously yesterday when he asked that the Council direct Chief of Police John R. King to obtain the names and addresses of all members of the International Student's Association in Cambridge and investigate them for Communist affiliation.

The issue started when the International Student Association asked the City Council to change the zoning laws at 33 Garden Street.

Councillor W. Dennison Swan '16 immediately said "The ISA is an organization which brings foreign students to the United States to learn the American way of life." He continued, "The organization is composed of fine men and to impugn their motives by implying that they are Communists is ridiculous."

Lynch contended that the "very name international makes me suspicions." He admitted that he knows "nothing about the organization" but said he thought the Council "should investigate it before passing the order."

Councillor Chester A. Higley said "I understand that you had a debate on this subject of Communism with Arthur M. Schlesinger, perhaps you can tell us what happened." Lynch did not answer the question.

Joseph A. Deguglielmo '29 said that "to ask the police to find the flames is a super-human task." He continued, "we are stamping them as Communists in the mind of the general public through such an investigation and this would insult their patriotism."

Extremely Unfair

Thomas MacNamara announced that he could not vote for the order because "to imply that people are Communists without evidence would be extremely unfair." MacNamara suggested a "personal investigation by Lynch to determine if there is any basis for the order."

Councillor Hyman Pill stated that he has always voted with Lynch on his anti-Communist legislation but, this time, he also believed the Council would "insult the leaders of the group."

Early this fall, Lynch submitted a list of "Reducators" to the Cambridge police, demanding that those on the list register with the police. Sixty-eight members of the University faculty were among these "Reducators."