Harriman Backs Professors' '1952 Civil Liberties Appeal'

W. Averill Harriman expressed full approval of the "1952 Civil Liberties Appeal" sponsored by three Harvard professors and stated that there should be "no fear of a back-fire," in a special interview with the CRIMSON yesterday.

Harriman, in Boston for eight hours, stressed that "Harvard, its students, and professors should not be afraid to express opinions on controversial matters such as the McCarthy and Jonner election.

"I am in favor of anything that might help to defeat those two, and the Civil Liberties Appeal seems like a definite step in that direction. If you believe strongly about a matter, the best thing is to go out and do something about it."

Crucial Election

Harriman expressed strong feelings about the consequence of a Republican victory this fall. "This is a crucial election in the history of this country. I sincerely feel that if the Republicans win, the results will be disastrous."

"Eisenhower has clearly gone over to the Taft side. The Liberal Republicans are out of the driver's seat. The General has shown complete agreement with Taft on domestic issues, and in the past few months has been getting closer and closer to Taft's foreign policies.

"If Eisenhower gets into power and cannot control the Republican block, America is in for serious trouble. We must be concerned with what goes on around us and not solely with this country."

Lashing out at what he termed "the smear element" in the Eisenhower campaign, Harriman particularly challenged the General on the corruption issue. "Corruption should not be attributed solely to the Democratic Party. Few of those men under suspicion are Democratic appointees. Corruption is not the main issue of this campaign. Rather it is foreign policy with which we should be concerned."

Smear

Harriman cited the General's recent use of "Harvard" in a derogatory manner as an example of the type of smear and "word association" campaign Eisenhower is running.

In contrast, Harriman had high praise for Stevenson and his "intelligent, forthright campaign." "I have the greatest confidence in Stevenson and the men around him. It is unfortunate that men like Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. have to undergo abusive smear attacks." he stated.

Harriman, in commenting about his future plans, emphasized that he was through with politics for good. He expressed no desire to be a future candidate for any electorial office.

After delivering a short speech in Boston last night, the Democratic presidential aspirant immediately returned to New York by plane.