The ADA Reaction

Ever-rabid in its denunciation of Senator McCarthy's witch hunts, the Americans for Democratic Action has recently assumed its own air of inquisitorial self-righteousness. Last week the national headquarters intervened to prevent Alger Hiss from speaking at the Swarthmore chapter of the ADA. Since the national organization gave no other grounds for its authoritarian behavior, its action obviously represents an attempt to raise a facade of political respectability.

Unfortunately, however, this particular example of election year prudence carries with it the disturbing implication that any man who speaks before a political organization automatically represents its views. Whether Hiss was a Communist is irrelevant; nor should his present ideas be a deterrent, because an organization does not commit itself to any ideology merely by inviting a man to speak. If the ADA had allowed Hiss to speak, few would have taken exception. By suddenly donning the robes of Draconian vigilance, the ADA only appears hypocritical and foolish.