Vain Attempt to Spike Hubbard's Charges Shown by Lowell's Notes

The official attitude of the University to the charges made in a recent issue of Liberty by W. D. Hubbard '22 was revealed last night by the release for publication of correspondence between President Lowell and Mr. Hubbard, and between President Lowell and the editor of various weeklies believed to have been interested in the publication of the article.

As early as December 13, President Lowell first wrote to Mr. Hubbard. His letter follows: December 13, 1926.

Dear Mr. Hubbard:

Having been informed that you are proposing to publish an article on football, criticizing the methods of playing of the Princeton team. I venture to write you this letter. Of course I have no right to ask you to refrain from publishing anything, but I think it is proper to say that all the authorities of Harvard University would deeply regret the publication of anything derogatory to Princeton, or its football team; and that we should be very grateful it you saw fit to withdraw the article in question.   Very truly yours,   (Signed) A. Lawrence Lowell.

Hubbard sent no Answer

Receiving no reply within three days and having no definite information as to what periodical was considering Mr. Hubbard's article, President Lowell wrote similar letters, on December 16 to the Curtis Publishing Company on December 22 to the Crowell Publishing Company, and on December 28 to Liberty Weekly, Inc., in Chicago.

Under date of December 20 the Editor of the Saturday Evening Post wrote to President Lowell as follows:   December 20, 1926.

Dear sir:

The Saturday Evening Post has not planned and would not consider such an article as you mention in your letter of December 16th. The same thing is true of our other periodicals. The Ladies Home Journal and The Country Gentleman. It is possible that you informant had some other weekly in mind.   Yours very truly,   (Signed George H. Lorimer, Editor.

Collier's Rejected Similar Story

The Editor of Collier's replied as follows:   December 23, 1926.

Mr dear Mr. Lowell:

Responsive to your letter of December 22nd I am happy to be able to inform you that Collier's Weekly has no intention of publishing an article on football such as was brought to your attention.

Some weeks ago a former Harvard football player came to our offices and offered to prepare an article which, he said would show that the football teams of a number of universities were trained with the purpose of injuring players on opponents' teams. He also stated that he had access to documentary material showing that a number of universities enlisted good football players by the use of money. I was informed that the athletic authorities of Harvard University had been assembling this data for a number of years and that they were now willing to make it public.

The negotiations with this writer were conducted by one of our Associate Editors but when the matter was brought to my attention, I said that Collier's would consider publishing such an article only on the conditions that every important allegation be substantiated by documentary evidence, that the Harvard athletic authorities take full responsibility for any charges made, and that the spirit of the article itself be such as to appeal to men of fair minds, regardless of their athletic or other affiliations. The article as submitted met none of the tests laid down and was immediately and finally rejected.

I have taken the liberty of setting forth these details because of the fact that I am eager to have it understood that Collier's could never publish the kind of an article which was brought to your attention.  Very truly yours,   (Signed)  William L. Chenery, Editor.

No reply from Liberty Weekly, Inc., in Chicago was received by President Lowell. Under date of January 12, 1927, Mr. Hubbard, in Astoria replied to President Lowell's letter of December 13, as follows:  Astoria, L. I.,  Jan. 12, 1927.

My Dear President Lowell:

This reply to your note to me regarding my Princeton football article is very late, but I must ask your forgiveness on the score of illness.

I regret that I cannot comply with your request and have my article withdrawn. I say this for two reasons. First because, although I did not write the article in question with a view to capitalising it, I have accepted payment for it. Second, and most important, I most firmly and sincerely believe not only in that which I have written but in the support of the many Harvard men, in official positions and otherwise, who have endorsed and encouraged me.

I wish you to know that the idea of writing such an article did not originate with me. I wrote it at the request of and in close collaboration with men intimately connected with the football situation in Cambridge.

I would also like you to know that this article was shown to Mr. Roper, Dean Gauss, Professor Kennedy and President Hibben of Princeton because we decided to print it. I feel that they have been given every opportunity to reply in any manner they may choose and that I cannot in any way be accused of under cover attack.

The article will appear in Liberty in about three weeks.  Very sincerely yours,  (Signed)  Wynant D. Hubbard.

On January 15 President Lowell sent copies of his letters with the following note to President Hibben on Princeton:  January 15, 1927.

Dear Mr. Hibben:

Having heard that Wynant D. Hubbard, a Harvard graduate, was writing an article for some magazine criticising the method of play of the Princeton football team, I wrote to him to ask him to withdraw his article and to the magazines which I understood might publish it, requesting them not to do so. I thought it might be useful to you to have copies of my letters, which I enclose. The first two concerns I wrote to replied that they should not think of publishing such an article; the third, which is to publish it, I did not hear about until the date of my letter.

I need hardly tell you how much I deplore such an article.  Very truly yours,  (Signed)  A. LAWRENCE LOWELL