Corporation Attorneys File Answer In Arboretum Trust Suit Hearings

Attorneys for the Corporation took the latest step in the Arnold Arboretum case on Wednesday, in filing an answer to an action pending before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. In "Answer to Revised Information," the attorneys set forth the University's position in a controversy which has existed since the early 1950's.

Branding the suit an attempt "to vindicate the views and interests of a group of individuals rather than the interest of the public generally," the University's attorneys moved for the dismissal of the case.

The suit, begun in December, 1958, in the name of Attorney General Edward F. McCormack, Jr., who is responsible for public trusts, charges Harvard with failure to discharge its duties as sole Trustee of the Arboretum. The dispute arose when books and plants were removed from the grounds of the institution in Jamaica Plain, to a new, University-owned building in Cambridge.

The University's position is that the trust has not been violated, because the transfer and subsequent reorganization of the facilities at Jamaica Plain are in "the best interests of the Arboretum."

The removal was carried out in 1954 after the former Attorney General, the late George Fingold, found no violation of trust in the matter. It involved recataloguing and storing the material in the building constructed to house the botanical collections belonging to the University. When the transfer took place, the Arboretum was left with books and specimens necessary, in the Corporation's view, to the effective operation of the Arboretum as a research facility. Materials now located in Cambridge are clearly marked "Arnold Arboretum," and are maintained from funds provided for that purpose.

The court, the highest in the state, has taken no action as yet upon the Corporation's reply. Warren F. Farr, an attorney for the University, feels that the next step will be an informal hearing before a court-appointed master.