(Ed. Note--The Crimson does not necessarily endorse opinions expressed in printed communications. No attention will be paid to anonymous letters and only under special conditions, at the request of the writer, will names be withheld. Only letters under 400 words can be printed because of space limitations.)

To the Editor of the Crimson:

In the last few days, the reactionaries of Massachusetts have attacked Harvard for the appointment of Granville Hicks, a prominent and recognized student of American History and an avowed Communist. These same "patriots" are further attempting to place all responsibility for the activity of the Young Communist League on our branch here at Harvard. We say that the reactionaries did not have as the object of their attack the Communists at Harvard, but rather the existence of all that is liberal in the life and traditions of our university. We best understand the events of the past week if we realize that they are paralleled on a national scale by the reactionary attacks on the C.I.O. and the New Deal administration. It is also important to note that the bombing of women and children in Barcelona and Canton today is being carried on under the same guise of fighting Communism.

We of the Harvard branch of the Young Communist League welcome this opportunity to clarify our position on the campus. Our branch is composed solely of students at Harvard University. Our purposes are best defined in our Declaration of Principles. "The Young Communist League is a permanent university for youth. It is first and foremost an educational organization. Our aim is to educate young people to understand the world in which we live. We want them to learn how to meet the challenge of war and reaction. We want to help them discover the path to the extension of liberty and security. We want them to find their way to a new society."

Realizing that activity is an integral part of education, our members participate in the general life of the university, not only for the benefits it offers today, but with the added desire to see it progress to meet the changing needs of our generation.

We see the contradictions of poverty and wealth, of democracy and fascism, of happiness and misery in the world today. These are our problems. We cannot evade them, and as our generation approaches maturity, they become more acute. We believe that a united American people in their day to day efforts to meet these problems will come to realize that the only basic solution will be reached in the construction of a Socialist society. Executive Committee of the   Harvard Branch of the YCL.--USA.

(Ed. Note: The authors' names have been withheld at their request.)