Professors Back Vietnam Policies

One hundred and ninety professors representing 17 New England colleges signed a statement published yesterday supporting the administration's position in Vietnam. Among professors from Harvard who signed were Samuel H. Beer, professor of Government, Morton H. Halperin, assistant professor of Government, and Henry A. Kissinger '50, associate professor of Government.

The statement, quoted extensively in yesterday's New York Times said in part: "As we understand this policy it is intended to achieve a negotiated settlement, in which the people of South Vietnam will have the opportunity to determine their own destiny through free elections, protection for opposition parties, and a free press."

The signers supported free debate on Vietnam policy in order to "discover new approaches" to the problem but deplored the tactics of "a small minority of the intellectual community" which might lead Peking to underestimate the seriousness and extent of support for the U.S. commitment.

Condemn Reprehensible Tactics

These reprehensible tactics might be draft card burnings and irresponsible demonstrations, Beer said last night. He cited a demonstration that occurred on Oct. 16 staged by the New York Vietnam Day Committee as such a tactic. At that time demonstrators displayed North Vietnamese flags and signs calling president Johnson a murderer.