Home Rule for Cambridge?

The University's use of President Kennedy's influence to defeat John Briston Sullivan's stilts is distressing politics. An institution like Harvard has enough devices within its own organization to oppose local projects against its own interest.

After the Administration has gone to such lengths to oppose something like Sullivan's stilts, one can only wonder what it will do on something really important. Even if the defeat of Sullivan's proposal were absolutely vital to Harvard's future, the University still had no business seeking help from its prestigious Washington contacts without first formulating a rational opposition to the office building.

The Administration never did agree on just what was wrong with a 15-story building across from Littauer, nor did President Pusey speak officially for the institution in objecting to the plan. The University still tried everything to oppose selling the land to Sullivan, and victory came last week to the anti-stilt forces when Governor Volpe vetoed the sale.

Little did Sullivan know that the University had rallied all its forces, including its most eminent living graduate, to beat him. McGeorge Bundy (former Dean of the Faculty) was approached; John F. Kennedy (Class of 1940) got the word and passed it on to Kenneth P. O'Donnell (Class of 1949); and Leverett Saltonstall (Class of 1914) added his influence.

Equally distressing is that the University apparently did not blush at using the White House to influence what was essentially a local problem, hardly connected with the national interest.

Approaching its Washington contacts for weighty matters of educational policy or the like might be proper for the University, although the matter of Harvard's infiltration into the government and its use of contacts will be touchy. Now the University has cried wolf in rallying its Washington corps to handle a relatively small problem.

And still the Administration wonders why the townies don't trust Harvard.