According to former John Reed President RobertN. Bellah '48, most students attended Eisler'slectures out of curiosity and because he was anotorious national figure-not because they sharedhis political views.

Bellah says that non-Communists in the studentbody and Faculty were usually ambivalent towardthe John Reed Club. He adds, however, that theadministration tried to influence hisorganization.

"There was quite a bit of pressure on us not toinvite speakers who would embarrass theUniversity," Bellah says, adding that the pressurenever came from Conant himself.

"[Conant's] views [on Communism] were quiteclear at the time, but I don't think he had thetime to care about this sort of thing," Bellahsays.

While students usually exhibited tolerance ofradical political views, there were exceptions tothis case. On Nov. 10, 1948, George W. Stocking'49, then president of the John Reed Club, wasattacked by three assailants while distributingpamphlets for a Communist event.

While the stolen pamphlets were later found ina Wigglesworth Hall room, the College meted out nopunishment for the attack.

Knowing Left from Left

For every confirmed Marxist in the Class of'49, there were at least three liberals contentwith being ascribed to the moderate left.

One such activist, Warren A. Guntheroth '49,now a professor at the University of Washington'smedical school, remembers the Communists as "kindof fringe people."

"But those of us who were devoted liberalsresented them," he adds. The Communists, withtheir reputation for provoking upheaval and theiragitating techniques, often seemed to interferewith the liberals' public relations on campus.

"Every time a good movement would start-forexample, an anti-Cold War peace movement-a lot ofnoisy radicals would show up," Guntheroth says."Then people would say, 'Oh God, we don't want tobe a part of this."

Guntheroth does, however, remember findinghimself troubled by the way his fellow studentstreated their more radical cohorts.

"I was a little disappointed with liberalorganizations," Guntheroth says. "They engaged ina public clearing-out of people accused of beingCommunist."

Bellah also noted that most student debate atthe time arose from within the left, in theconflict between liberal and radical students, asmany liberals struggled to avoid being branded asCommunists.

In October 1946, for example, the HarvardLiberal Union (HLU) purged its executive board oftheir more radical American Youth for Democracy(AYD) members.