Ex-Mayor and present City Councillor John D. Lynch announced yesterday that he will form a "Vigilante Committee" in an attempt to drive all Communists out of Cambridge. The search will extend to Harvard and Radcliffe.

Lynch claims it would not be a "witch-hunt" but rather a "traitor-hunt." He yesterday said that at Harvard "98% of the faculty are 100% American, but there are a small minority who are trying to undermine democracy."

The announcement came as the result of a letter received Monday from the Justice Department in Washington. Several weeks ago the City Council had ordered the Chief of Cambridge Police to procure a list of Communists in Cambridge from the Justice Department. Washington turned down the city's request for this list.

Lynch yesterday said he thinks "it is the citizens' duty to go ahead and publicize the activities of all Communists in the city." The committee which would form would dig up the Communists, publicize their names, and prosecute them.

The councillor said he feels his work is the only thing to do, since, he contends, there are so many students who "are merely adolescents and pick up things from so-called 'smart' professors who are in reality advocating Communism."

Lynch defines a Communist as "one who wants to destroy this country."

It is likely that Lynch will bring the issue up again before the City Council. It is also probable that five out of the nine councillors will back Lynch's measure if it comes up for a vote.