Roosevelt's Letter

Dear Dr. Pusey:

To say I was horrified to read in the January 17, 1959 Harvard Alumni Bulletin that Dr. Ralph Bunche was nominated for the Harvard Board of Overseers, is putting it very mildly indeed.

It would seem to me that to be a member of the Harvard Board of Overseers is a great honor and great responsibility and a careful check of anyone nominated should be made.

Of course, I realize that to the average man in the street who reads the N.Y. Times and the N.Y. Herald Tribune only, and hears such commentators on the radio as Edward R. Morrow, or Barry Gray it would seem that Dr. Bunche is a great and good man who has been persecuted without reason. But, when such an honor is being bestowed on him as being placed on the Harvard Board of Overseers I believe that the nominating committee should not be satisfied simply with newspaper statements on the qualities of any man, particularly about such a controversial figure as Dr. Bunche. Any committee bestowing such an honor should have made it a point to find out that both in Congress and other important places there is serious question as to whether Dr. Bunche should be a trusted servant of the Government of the United States, and of course the same question should arise as to his qualifications to be a Harvard Overseer.

Starting from this single fact, it is very easy in the case of as prominent a man as Dr. Bunche to trace his statements and his connections over the past years. I suppose it would be impossible for your committee to get a transcript of Dr. Bunche's testimony and the testimony of other people about Dr. Bunche in the Loyalty Board Hearings that occurred; but there is much other available testimony and much documentary evidence comparatively easy to obtain. Even if you and the nominating committee are unaware of the infiltration of left wing propaganda into our news media, press, and radio reports and editorial opinions unsupported by independent research, these should not be the sole basis for the award of any distinguished honor. The fact that the Daily Worker and other left-wing press were unanimous in stating that Dr. Bunche was entirely cleared should have put you on warning.

To give the excuse that the Loyalty Board had cleared Dr. Bunche--if so be the case--does not excuse the nominating committee. The past decade has shown what type of people very often creep into the Loyalty Boards, and what pressure is put on those Loyalty Boards from mysterious sources.

As it is evident that the committee responsible for the nomination has made no careful study of this matter, I enclose herewith some interesting documentary evidence regarding Dr. Bunch and some of the organizations with which he was connected.

I cannot understand why anyone who has had a past record of close affiliation with communism should be an Overseer of Harvard and as such responsible for the education of our youth. Such past connections would indicate at the least a certain instability. I can understand why people who have definitely repented and have set out at great sacrifice to right, as far as possible, the wrongs that they have committed, are perhaps, proper recipients of certain honors. I can, however, find no record that Dr. Bunche has publicly stated his past connections or that he has ever repented any of his left-wing activities....

The President and Fellows of Harvard, the Corporation and the Board of Overseers are "Trustees," and as such should exercise extreme vigilance whenever they give an honor in the name of Harvard. I do not know how much you were connected with the nomination, but assume that those who chose Bunche's name must consult with you, as president of Harvard.

In view of the facts that I have given above, I think the nomination of Mr. Bunche should be rescinded forthwith, and new name picked--a name reflecting loyalty to our Republic.

I greatly regret that I have had to take this stand in opposition to so many good people and friends. But I feel it would be negligence of duty on my part if I did not point out what I consider carelessness, to say the least, on the part of those who run Harvard. I do not want to see Harvard continue to be the unwitting tool of the sinster influences that are now so powerful in this Country--influences responsible for the strange courses and action taken by many hitherto splendid institutions....

After reading the thoroughly documented data attached, I trust you will find means to quash this most inappropriate nomination. Sincerely,   Archibald B. Roosevelt '17