Jerome D. Greene, Secretary to the Corporation, yesterday refused permission to the John Reed Society to sponsor a lecture by Earl Browder in the New Lecture Hall on November 15 on the grounds of violation of "taste."

Greene refused permission to use the New Lecture Hall if Browder spoke, but according to a letter to the Society any other speaker would be accepted as long as Browder, who is now under indictment for using passports under an assumed name, was not the subject of discussion.

An Interchange of Letters

The final denial to the John Reed Society followed an interchange of letters on the subject starting in October. Early in October oral permission for the lecture was granted by Greene, and at that time he asked the Society for a formal application.

On October 25, after Browder had been indicted in New York, Greene wrote to the Society that their application was "in order," but considering the circumstances that had arisen because of the Browder indictment, Greene suggested that the Society abandon their plans "lest questions of propriety should be raised."

Greene, however, reiterated his faith in free speech and claimed that his action is in no way a violation of free speech at Harvard. Greene bases his decision on his opinion that a meeting at which the indicted Communist spoke is not "appropriate to the atmosphere and traditions of the University."

Greene Asks for Support

"Your support of the policy I have maintained, with the approval and authority of the Corporation, by your agreement with the advice given in this letter, will, I think, strengthen the Iiberal position of the University, which is what we are all interested in," Greene wrote.

The John Reed Society issued a statement last night in support of their desire to hold the meeting. The statement points out that Browder is legally entitled to speak despite his indictment, and that he drew a capacity crowd at Symphony Hall in Boston last Sunday.

The statement says that Greene's rein protesting the Administration's re- fusal of permission to hold the meeting "is an invasion of the rights guaranteed to Harvard students by the time-honored tradition of the University."

The John Read Society "feels that the question of 'propriety' ought not to keep students from hearing what Browder has to say.... It had been our understanding that the selection of speakers for undergraduate organizations was not one of Mr. Greene's duties."

"Therefore, the John Reed Society calls upon all students and faculty members and their organizations to join us fusel and requesting that it reverse its decision and grant the use of a hall.