To the Editors of the Crimson:

I am writing this letter on behalf of the Harvard Committee to Save O.P.A., to protest in their name the recent action of Assistant Dean Charles W. Duhig in refusing permission to the Committee to hold a student rally within the Harvard Yard on the subject of O.P.A. According to Mr. Duhig, his action reflects the present policy of the University, which is opposed to any outdoor student meetings on University property. We are of the confirmed opinion that such a policy is inconsistent with the democratic traditions of Harvard and our nation. The only reason advanced by Mr. Duhig as a basis for this policy was that the University feared that any such meeting would inevitably result in-to use his own term-"horse-play." We feel that this argument adds insult to injury, and shows a misunderstanding both of the character of the present student body and the critical nature of the proposed meeting.

It is perhaps unfortunate that any such meeting has to be called. The members of the Committee, however, felt that the danger of inflation to the average student was so great, and the prospect of the permanent elimination of effective price control was so imminent that a public demonstration of the sentiments of the student body was necessary. Mr. Duhig refused to make an exception to what he insisted was University policy because of the absence of the members of the committee which determines such policy. To our minds that is not an adequate excuse for the conduct of a great educational institution. Accepting this fact, however, we urge the University to change its policy so that what is now the exception becomes the rule, and that some person or persons in authority-and present at the University-have the power to administer that policy to the end that students at Harvard may, in the future, have the opportunity to hold orderly outdoor meetings on University property whenever the occasion warrants such activity. Stanley Geller '40   Chairman, Harvard Committee to Save O.P.A.