The Massachusetts House of Representatives Tuesday overwhelming defeated a bill calling for investigation of the MTA management. The bill, which was rejected by a 151-66 vote, was aimed primarily at MTA General Manager Thomas J. McLernon.

McLernon has been under heavy fire recently on the ground that he has dealt inadequately with labor problems in the MTA. A state official told the CRIMSON that McLernon's "constant fighting with the unions has resulted in the low morale among MTA employees."

Rep. Julius Ansel (D-Boston) was quoted by the Boston Globe as saying, "If the MTA management has nothing to hide, they should welcome an investigation. I think there are members of the MTA who don't want to put their own house in order."

One legislator said in an interview yesterday that the proposed investigation might have increased Harvard's chances for the purchase of the Bennett St. MTA yards as a site for a tenth House.

The main opposition to Harvard's purchase of the Bennett St. land has come from Anthony D. Pompeo, member of the MTA's three-man Board of Trustees. The legislator said the investigation would have probed the activities of the Board of Trustees, and might have resulted in its reorganization.