Festival Organizations Fight Over Affiliations

Inter-organizational struggles over preparations for this summer's Vienna Youth Festival reached Cambridge yesterday. Leaders of the New York-based United States Festival Committee arrived for talks with an information service located in the Square.

At the same time, Miss Barbara Perry of Chicago, chairman of the American Youth Festival Organization, a rival of the USFC, attacked "the partisanship of the USFC."

Miss Perry, who split with the USFC and formed the AYFO in the fall, told the CRIMSON that "student groups in this country have so strongly pointed out Communist associations with the USFC that most students will have nothing to do with them."

She also charged the USFC with thwarting her organization's preparations for the Festival and with refusing to open their financial records to the public.

IPC Called Communist

Although affirming that the United States should send a delegation to the Festival, Miss Perry said "the International Preparatory Committee for the Festival is Communist dominated."

Marvin J. Markman and Joann A. Grant, leaders of the USFC, strongly denied Miss Perry's complaints yesterday, claiming they were due to "pique." Markman insisted that allegations of Communist influence over the USFC were false, adding, "Miss Perry is the source of these rumors."

Miss Grant also denied Miss Perry's charges concerning the IPC, labelling them as a "red herring." Markman added, "In my recent visit to the IPC in Vienna I found the discussions democratically conducted, with no Communist control."

Markman and Miss Grant are in Cambridge for discussions with the Independent Service for Information on the Vienna Festival. Miss Gloria Steinem, director of the Service, reported yesterday, "the USFC leaders came here to ask us for support. We refused to give any support, because we do not want to affiliate ourselves with any organization."