To the Editors of The Crimson:

Accidents occur in the best of regulated families and notably also in rather evidently unregulated ones such as Harvard's. Thus the proposed award for distinguished public service to Mr. Edwin Meese III. But I do not write to join in the present storm of criticism, tempting as that may be. The problem now, in a popular Washington phrase of our day, is damage control. That cannot be achieved by escape, as was so brilliantly accomplished in the matter of a degree for President Ronald Reagan. Mitigation is now the best hope. To this end I suggest that the wording of the award be amended to include in the title the names of some of Mr. Meese's more widely noticed predecessors in office, Republicans of course. Let this be called the Daugherty Mitchell-Kleindienst Award for Public Service. The name will have modest relevance, will admirably dilute Harvard's identification with the honor and be a thoughtful reminder of the place of Attorneys-General in our history. John Kenneth Galbraith   Warburg Professor of Economics Emeritus