In Reply to the Young Republicans

Last night the Young Republican Club placed in every College mail box a flyer claiming that the CRIMSON abused the Club on November 7 and 8. Here's what the HYRC charges; our answers follow:

1. HYRC says Jay Jansen, its president, never made the statements (about "vassal" Republican clubs) which appeared November 7.

Actually, the statements were first made by Donald McNiel, an authorized publication of McNiel's statements.

2. HYRC says McNiel read this November 7 story at 2 a.m. of the morning it appeared and "objected to the quotes and the content of the article."

It is true that McNiel read the story at 2 a.m. But after perusing the article, McNiel said that although it seemed somewhat tactless, it was a good story and would show students that "HYRC was really doing something." He offered not a single objection.

3. HYRC alludes to our story of November 8. This story recited the facts listed above. It also contained a statement by Jansen: he denied that he had made the November 7 remarks and he said that "McNiel was unqualified and incompetent to make the statements." (Here Jansen seemed to recognize that the November 7 statements were not, as he now claims, "dreamed up.") Of our November 8 article, the HYRC now says: "This is also untrue."

This is very strange. Mr. Jansen read the completed article at about 10 p.m. the night before it appeared. He said it was accurate in its entirety. If it had been "untrue," it seems probable that he would have spoken up.

4. HYRC says we refused to print Jansen's letter.

This is true. The letter accused us of "flights of fancy . . . or slander." It categorically denied our November 7 story. A few hours after we received it, Jansen contradicted his own letter by personally approving the November 8 story, which stated that McNiel had made the statements and that they had been authorized by Jansen and McNiel. There is little point in printing a letter already refuted by its author.

The HYRC flyer says in general that we were out to damage the Club. We deny this; the original story was printed only because it had real news value. If it was untrue, the HYRC should not have released it. The Editors