Bunche Ignores Attack By Veritas Foundation

United Nations Under-Secretary Ralph Bunche, whose nomination for election to the Board of Overseers has been attacked by the Veritas Foundation, stated yesterday that he does not believe "in taking a defensive attitude toward an attack of this kind."

"A few years ago a member of the group got up a mimeographed booklet of 40 or 50 pages, and has been distributing it ever since then, so I've heard all these attacks before, and I pay no attention to them," Bunche continued.

The Foundation's charges against Bunche, based on past left-wing affiliations, are similar to charges made against him in 1954 during a routine investigation of the U.S. International Organizations Employee Loyalty Board. At that time, the Board made an unprecedented public announcement, which stated that there was "no doubt as to the loyalty of Dr. Bunche" to the U.S. government.

Bunche agreed that the Board's statement is the best defense against any questioning of his loyalty, and emphasized that he does not plan "a formal public statement in reply to attacks of this nature."

Larsen Supports Alumni Bulletin

Roy E. Larsen '21, Chairman of the Board of Overseers, last night expressed his support of the Alumni Bulletin's refusal to print the Veritas Foundation's advertisement opposing Bunche's candidacy, and said that the group "has pressed the matter too far."

"I respect and admire Dr. Bunche, and hope he is elected to the Board," Larsen commented. "His contributions to the United Nations have been outstanding, and I am sure his work for Harvard would be just as significant."

The Foundation, a right-wing group with headquarters in New York, describes its general objective as an attempt to "educate" American universities "upon the subject of communism, the international communist conspiracy, and its methods of infiltration into the United States."