The Cambridge City Council yesterday refused to consider a motion asking the city to "create a unit within the Police Department for the purpose of ascertaining and making known the witting and unwitting adherents of the communist cause."

The motion, introduced by Councillor John D. Lynch, was apparently aimed as a reaction to a Cambridge Ministers' Association resolution criticizing the City Council for its recent motion that condemned Russian Premier Khrushchev's American tour.

The original Council motion, also sponsored by Lynch, simply opposed the Khrushchev visit. This brought the Ministers' reaction, read aloud at yesterday's Council meeting.

The new Lynch proposal was effectively voted down and sent to the Committee on Finance by a procedural maneuver. Councillors Joseph A. DeGuglielmo '29, Edward A. Crane '35, Cornelia B. Wheeler, Charles B. Watson, and Pearl K. Wise all voted against suspension of the rules, a move that would have allowed Council consideration of the motion.

"The Reaction of Pink Adjuncts"

In his order, Lynch said it was a known fact Russia spends at least $4 million per year for subversion, and "the reaction of pink adjuncts of the communist apparatus to [the Council's original motion against the Khrushchev trip] evidenced the lavish expenditure of funds for subversion in this city."

In other developments, City Council candidate Walter J. Sullivan has pledged, that whether he wins or loses in the Nov. 4 election, he and his campaign workers will tear down all his election posters on "D-Day" or "Down Day"--Nov. 5.

When asked about a recent magazine account alleging illicit activities around Harvard Square, Police Chief Daniel J. Brennan said: "I don't think they ever existed."