Sullivan Trucks Desert and Canaries for Independents

City Councilman Michael A. ("Mickey the Dude") Sullivan reentered Harvard's political arena last Saturday night when in his capacity as a local truckman he exported a symbolical load of sand, a large horse-shoe floral wreath, three canaries and six pigeons from the Independents, conservative political group to a dance in the Hotel Statler given by the Affiliated Jewish Youth Organization to raise money to send Jewish refugees to Palestine.

Sullivan, as the story unfolded itself yesterday, was careful to state that he was operating as a businessman and not as a member of the Cambridge City Council.

The strange assortment of gifts was a gesture of good-will from the Independents to the Jewish fund-raising organization whose cause they supported at a meeting last week. The meeting was thrown into confusion by an Arab, Victor E. Sawabial, who opposed the Jewisk migration in an impromptu speech.

"Up From the Desort"

The donation was arranges her by Michael P. Grace '40 of the Independents. The sand, which filled one of Sullivan's trucks, was intended to symbolize the victory which the Jews had won over the desert in the construction of Tel Aviv. On the sides of the truck were fastened placards which read "Up From the Desert" and "Now From the Wastelands." It was parked opposite the hotel during the dance.

Sullivan and two of his sons had difficulty in delivering the gifts and waited in the Statler's lobby while members of the dance committee questioned their credentials. One of them threatened to "punch the nose" of anyone who tried to take the wreath and canaries, last-minute substitutes for the doves of peace, upstairs to the ball room. When Sullivan showed his card as a Councilman he was told he should be ashamed of himself.

Objections were finally stilled with the arrival of Edward Kaufman, chairman of the dance committee, and James Sullivan, the Councilman's oldest son, presented the wreath from the Independents and released the three canaries from the box on the band platform