Constitution Fails to Keep Radicals Alive, Howe Says at HLU Forum

The purpose of the Constitution is to keep radicals alive, and it is not serving that objective, Mark DeWolfe Howe '28, professor of Law, said last night.

Asserting that "we can no longer depend on the Supreme Court to save us from the actions of irresponsible legislatures," Howe spoke at a Liberal Union forum on the "Case of the Legless Veteran." James Kutcher, the legless veteran, who was dismissed from the Veterans Administration because of his membership in the Socialist Workers' Party was the other speaker.

"We have gone too far in subjecting Communists to special controls," Howe said. "The major tragedy is not what we have done with the Communists, but the loose-headed, hysterical way we have gone about trying to eliminate the Communist problem. This has actually harmed other non-communists, such as Mr. Kutcher," he added.

Kutcher warned against an atmosphere of fear which, he said, "pervades" the country. He accused big business interests of running the nation, and of using prefabrications of communist conspiracy to further their interests.

He protested against the listing of his party as subversive. "We were never confronted with any evidence, nor were we allowed any hearing."