Mark DeWolfe Howe '28, professor of I aw, said last night that Alabama Governor George C. Wallace is apparently unwilling to meet him in a dialogue on civil rights when Wallace visits Cambridge this Fall.
Howe, who agreed Tuesday to a televised encounter with Wallace Nov. 4 before a Sanders Theatre audience thought "it would be unwise to invite him up here if he refuses to discuss his views."
Leaders of the Young Democrats, sponsors of Wallace's trip to Harvard, worked into the night to find a compromise acceptable to the Governor which would still permit examination of his position.
T. Jefferson Frazier '64, president of the group, said that "it would not be appropriate for Wallace to speak alone here." He would not comment on whether the invitation to Wallace stood if the Governor refuses to meet Howe, but said he plans to discuss the visit with the Wallace's press secretary sometime this morning.
Dancing Bear
"If he won't appear and answer questions, then he becomes simply a display--a dancing bear," Howe said. "It would be irresponsible for students to have him come just to watch the bear stand up and scratch himself."
Howe said he hoped the Young Democrats would rescind their invitation to Governor Wallace "if he is unwilling to be answered." He contended that this was not an issue of free speech, since "Wallace's views are well known already."
"Why should Harvard open Sanders Theatre to the restatement of a preposterous position?" Howe asked "If Harvard receives the Governor, it should be allowed to say the discussion must be at an intellectual level.
"I think we owe something to the Negroes of the country and particularly of the South, who see this man as a collaborator in killings. I don't see why undergraduates want to put on this show and disgrace themselves by laughing at it."
Read more in News
That Harvard Scandal