Subversive Inquiry Termination Urged

Termination of the present Massachusetts legislative investigation of communism and subversive activities has been recommended by a group of 16 Massachusetts lawyers, Protestant clergymen and educators.

They advocate discontinuance of the special commission's activities when its present term expires on Feb. 1, contending that "it would be foolish, if not illegal, to extend the life of the commission" since "the United States Supreme Court has held that the states cannot legislate in the field of subversive activities because this would conflict with existing federal laws."

The group, which includes Samuel Eliot Morison '07, Jonathan Trumbull Professor of American History, Emeritus and David F. Cavers, associate dean of the Law School, has prepared a statement in which it asserts that the Commission has "uncovered no new facts in the past and is unlikely to discover anything new in the future."

In addition, the group censured the legislature for assuming the authority to pronounce judgment on individuals outside the courts in violation of constitutional provisions.