'Veritas' Group Requests Support From Graduates

The newly formed Veritas Foundation has sent 15,000 letters to selected alumni, asking financial support to combat "Harvard's trend to the left." Three New York members of the former Veritas Committee, which opposed the 1957 appointment of J. Robert Oppenheimer as William James Lecturer, are trustees of the Foundation.

"We are for Harvard and the Program," Foundation trustee William A. Robertson '31 asserted. For example, "we think the recent Zborowski case has hurt the program considerably." Zborowski, a research assistant in Social Anthropology, was convicted of perjury in connection with testimony on communist affiliations.

According to the letter sent to Alumni, the Foundation "expects to extend its activities to other educational institutions." Robertson claimed that "two Communists have recently been appointed to the faculty at Yale," and said letters on the matter will probably be sent to Yale alumni by the Foundation.

He added that while the two may not be "card-carrying Communists," they are fully committed to the communist ideal.

At present, Foundation members are also seriously concerned about the nomination of Ralph Bunche for the Board of Overseers, Robertson remarked. He questioned Bunche's past political affiliations.

A letter protesting the Bunche nomination has been sent to President Pusey by another Foundation trustee, Archibald B. Roosevelt '17. The letter will be circulated among alumni, Robertson said, because the Alumni Bulletin recently refused to print a full-page ad stating the case against Bunche.

If sufficient funds can be raised, Robertson stated, the Foundation would like to establish a chair at the University for the study of communism. Thus far, the response from alumni has been predominantly favorable, Robertson said, with enough money already collected to cover mailing costs. By 1960, the Foundation hopes to acquire a fund of $500,000.