AFSC Protests 'Politics' Charge

The American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker service agency, said yesterday that it did not feel its work had "political overtones." The H.R. Combined Charities Committee did not put the group on its recommended list this year because it wished to avoid "organizations which are political, religious, or otherwise controversial."

In a statement which the AFSC made available for Combined Charities solicitors, the organization claimed that it "does not operate in politics although, like every other human institution, it operates in the political sphere."

The AFSC conceded in its statement that it spends 13 percent of its money "in talking about the ways to promote peaceful conditions."

It continued, however, "We do not consider in any sense that our work has 'political overtones' as distinct from religious overtones... or humanitarian overtones or educational overtones."

Benjamin F. Stapleton '65, Chairman of the Combined Charities Committee, emphasized yesterday that the recommended list is only for unallocated funds. "Last year," he said, "we received checks for 280 different organizations. We encourage this variety."