Harvard Junior Held for Robbery; Accused by Mississippi Cab Driver

Claude L. Weaver '65, a Dunster House student currently on a year's leave, and two other civil rights workers have been held in a Jackson, Miss., jail since the night after Christmas on a charge of strong-arm robbery stemming from a dispute over a cab fare.

If they are convicted of the charge, Weaver and his companions will face jail sentences of one to five years.

According to Carsie Hall, an attorney for the Student Nonviolent Co-ordinating Committee (SNCC), the three students, all Negroes, left a Jackson cafe in a taxi driven by Dewey Short (allegedly known as "Short-change"), and were told the fare would be $1 for the trip. When they arrived, however, Dewey insisted on a $1.50 fare.

When the trio finally handed Dewey two $1 bills, he allegedly refused to give them their change. A scuffle ensued, one of the students grabbed one of the bills back, and they left the cab. A few hours later they were arrested by Jackson police on Dewey's charge that he had been robbed of $20.

Bail for the three was set at $1000 a piece. However, according to Julian Bond, spokesman for SNCC, every local bonding company approached so far originally agreed to write the bond but subsequently refused when it learned of the students' affiliation with SNCC. "We have the choice of putting up the leaving them there, and we certainly don't intend to leave them there," said Bond.

Lloyd I. Rudolph '48, Allston Burr Senior Tutor of Dunster House, said that efforts to raise money for Weaver's bond are now being discussed in Dunster House.

The students have not yet been arraigned.

Lloyd I. Rudolph '48, Allston Burr Senior Tutor of Dunster House, said that efforts to raise money for Weaver's bond are now being discussed in Dunster House.

The students have not yet been arraigned.