Allen Launches Lynch Investigation; City Solicitor Shuns Council Meeting

The Francis Sweeny Committee, supported by many faculty members, started a long term investigation of City Councillor John Lynch yesterday which, Charles R. Allen, associate director, believes will defeat him in next year's city election.

Lynch's motion favoring distribution of "Reducators," which lists 68 faculty members as "Communists, Communist sympathizers, or fellow travelers," and his bill aimed at forcing all Cambridge Communists to register with the police prompted the action, Allen stated.

Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. '38, associate professor of History, whom Allen described as a "good friend of the Committee," said that "the Francis Sweeny Committee has done much valuable work before and after the war in exposing anti-semetic, fascist, and crypto-Communist groups."

Factual Investigation

Allen said his investigation would proceed on a slow, factual basis. He plans to collect all material on Lynch's background in an attempt to find out if he has any connection with Alderson Zoll, compiler of the Reducators list, and the National Council for American Education, the publisher. He would then publicize this material.

Allen, when questioned, said he did not plan to break up Lynch's political organization in North Cambridge. But he thinks that if enough bad publicity arises he can force influential politicians there to reject Lynch for a less controversial candidate.

These tactics, he added, defeated Daniel Casey of Pittsfield in this year's primaries when Casey sought re-nomination for State Representative.