To the Editor of the Crimson:

Through Mr. Jerome D. Greene, Secretary of the Corporation, the Administration of Harvard University has denied the John Reed Society its right of hearing a speaker of its own choice. The John Reed Society invited Mr. Earl Browder to speak at Harvard on "The World Crisis," because it felt that the students and faculty of the University wanted to hear all sides of this important topic. Mr. Browder is the most authoritative representative of a legitimate point of view on this issue. When Mr. Browder was indicted on a technical passport charge, Mr. Greene suggested that the meeting be abandoned, "lest questions of propriety be raised." The Administration has every right to make such suggestions. However, the John Reed Society has been informed that the indictment, and it is only an indictment, imposes no civil disability on Mr. Browder, and it feels that the question of "propriety" ought not to keep the students from hearing what he has to say. When permission was again requested for the use of New Lecture Hall, Mr. Greene went beyond mere suggestion and definitely refused. The refusal is an invasion of the rights guaranteed to Harvard students by the time-honored tradition of the University. It had been our understanding that the selection of speakers for undergraduate organizations was not one of Mr. Greene's duties.

This country is in grave danger of being involved in the European war. The mounting hysteria has already increased the danger of involvement and has threatened to eclipse the fundamental civil liberties of the American people. In refusing us our right to hear a speaker of our choice, the Administration can only contribute to this undemocratic hysteria. In taking such a step the Administration can only align itself with those who, according to a recent Crimson editorial, "are trying to build for the United States a super-highway straight to Armageddon."

Therefore, the John Reed Society calls upon all students and faculty members and their organizations to join us in protesting the Administration's refusal and requesting that it reverse its decision and grant the use of a hall to the Society for the Earl Browder meeting. The Executive Committee   of the John Reed Society.