Howe Asks Called Faculty to Talk; HLU Scores Council for Not Acting

While condemning the present Congressional investigations of education as "anti-intellectual," Mark DeWolfe Howe '28, professor of Law, suggested nevertheless that summoned faculty members should "tell everything--to talk and not to conceal."

Speaking before a meeting sponsored by the Combined University Students' Committee at Emerson last night, Howe warned that the question of Congressional investigations is one of "enormous complexity."

Meanwhile the Liberal Union issued a statement denouncing the Student Council for failing to take the "leadership and instigation of the formation of an undergraduate Academic Freedom Committee."

"Jenner and McCarthy are interested in discrediting liberalism," Professor Howe contended in his Emerson talk, "and the University has a responsibility of not committing itself to such anti-intellectual degradation." Besides, he stated, "the investigations do not produce enough information on which to base legislation."

But he argued that the individual professor summoned to testify should take into account his relation to the University and students. Because of this, the professor should in most cases not resort to the fifth amendment.

Howe, said that a more complicated situation faces the universities themselves in dealing with the persons who refuse to testify.

He suggested that "American universities should adopt a firm policy that no teacher should be discharged because of his silence. If they do dismiss a professor for remaining silent, it seems to me that half the battle for academic freedom is lost in the university itself."

The only possible policy for a university to follow at the present, Howe concluded, is to "judge each individual case on its merits and this involves faculty participation."

Student View

Walter C. Carrington '52 1L presented "the students' view on investigations." Veide, he said, "has recently admitted that 99.9 percent of the teachers are loyal and it appears that he is looking for the disloyal one-tenth percent."

"I hope," Carrington stated," that if a student refuses to testify because of the fifth amendment, he will not be dismissed from school, and I hope that if a student does profess subversive associations, he likewise will not be dismissed."

Herbert Semmel 3L told the audience of 100 at Emerson that a petition condemning the investigations has so far collected 1,000 signatures. He said that the petition will be presented to the Jenner Committee tomorrow.

The Liberal Union said in its statement that the Student Council "should have been the natural leaders in the flight against the threat to academic freedom represented by the Jenner Committee. However, we feel they have been ducking the issue in trying to weather the storm without taking any concrete action."

No Action

For a month and a half, the HLU said, the Council refused to take action, and added that "the least the Council could have done is to have set up a standing committee to help deal with this problem."

The Harvard Society for Minority Rights voted to support the Combined University Students' petition. The HSMR also voted to hold a meeting at 7 p.m. tonight in the Student Activities Center to decide whether or not to request student appearances before the Jenner committee.