Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1953-03-14
ACoImerView

Those people who predicted that congress
Sional investigation of communistic influences
In the colleges would degenerate into a witch
hunt may turn out to have been wrong. There
are indications, at any rate, that a calmer
approach to this question is being taken.
One such indication is to be found in the
policy statement recently adopted by the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in
the u S. A.
The council obviously is keeping it's figura-
tive fingers crossed. It does not by any means
concede that these Investigations are above
suspicion. And it insists on certain standards
that witnesses should receive fair and digni-
fed treatment, that they should have oppor-
tunity to submit initial statements of reason
able length that no committee should circulate
unsupported charges on its letterheads etc.
1t also recognizes, however, that Congress has
"the right and duty" to investigate with a
legislative purpose in mind; it comedies that
conspirators in any area of life who seek the
violent overthrow of the Government should be
discovered and punished if proved guilty, and
1t asserts that boards of trustees, in addition
to retaining control of their schools, must
exercise the responsibility of dealing with the
occasional Subversive within their institutions"
This, of course, does not signify that the
council and the investigators have reached
a meeting of the minds. Far from 1t. But the
policy statement is suggestive Of a much more
rational attitude than can be found in some
of the more extreme emotional attacks which
have been made by some individuals in the
past
There have also been encouraging develop
mentS in the congressional camp One OF these
is the restraint that has been laid on Repre-
sentative Velde by his committee colleagues.
Another is to be found in the testimony before
the Jenner committee by DR.. Harry D. Gideonse,
president of Brooklyn College.
A few years ago Brooklyn College was faced
with serious Communist problem. Now, &C
cording to DR.. Gideonse. communism is ION the
run" And he gave the Senate committee
credit for helping him get rid of seven faculty
members suspected of Communist affliation.
Some of these originally had denied any such
association. But when brought before the COM
mittee and faced with the possibility of prose-
cution for perjury, they refused to answer
questions on grounds of possible Self-incrimi-
nation. This constituted ground for dismissal
from the college, and they were dismissed.
There was no issue, DR.. GideonSe said, involv-
ing academic freedom or freedom of thought"
Those teachers who had originally denied
Communist affiliation, he said, could foreSee
that testimony now available to the commit
tee would make charges of perjury unavoid-
able So they therefore chose to appeal to
the fifth amendment (the safeguard against
Standardization with smoke screen of Ian
guage designed to make their action appear as
defense of freedom and democracy rather
than a carefully planned avoidance of perjury
charges"
Most people still will want to reserve final
Judgment concerning the character Of these
Investigations But the Jenner committee has