Emerson Says Former CP Membership No Cause for Firing

Head of the Government Department Rupert Emerson '22 yesterday blasted the current wave of "hysterical witch-hunting" and its accompanying fear in academic circles.

Professors should not be "bounced out" of their jobs for past Communist Party membership or refusal to testify before Congressional committees, he said, unless they have engaged in actual espionage or sabotage against the United States.

Emerson noted the "hysterical way people are using these investigations for the advancement of their own careers." Asked to be specific, he named Senators McCarthy, McCarran, and Jenner.

Would Not Hire Communist

Congressional committees have no place investigating teachers' opinions and past affiliations, except where overt acts against the government are concerned, he maintained. "A very considerable number of current teachers flirted with communism in the '30's, but later saw the error of their ways and got out." It's absurd to penalize people for this fleeting association in the past, he stated.

Emerson added, "Personally I would not hire anybody who is now known to be a Communist" on the ground that he parrots the Party line as conceived in Moscow. He was "skeptical if this type of intellectual could contribute much."

He saw nothing wrong with clearly-labeled Communists coming to the University to lecture. "I have faith enough in the Harvard student to be able to discriminate between ideas worthy of attention and ideas unworthy. They should have an awareness of what the opposing camp is advocating," he said.

Too many, today, "are afraid to speak out," he declared. "It takes an extra amount of courage to come out with views currently regarded as heretical."

"Given all the pressures toward conformity, it is essential that individuals take risks, make associations they feel desirable, and speak up in defense of persons or groups who are improperly attacked," he said.