Covert Financing Hit In Overseas Research

A body of nationally-known educators, including Edward S. Mason, Lamont University Professor, called on U.S. universities this week to reject publicly "covert funding of overseas research" by the military and intelligence branches of the government.

The recently formed group, called Education and World Affairs (EWA), made the proposal as part of a series of guidelines for overseas research.

Among the proposals, they insisted on "the rule of candor and full disclosure in connection with overseas research."

At the same time, they said, the universities should press "for an enlargement in the grant-making capacity of those government agencies which are not part of military and intelligence complexes."

Mason said last night that the guidelines were necessary to get universities to pay more attention to what their overseas faculty was doing.

President Johnson's recent decision to cut off CIA financing to private and educational organizations does not reduce that necessity, he said.

Mason said that Harvard's present policy is in line with the guidelines recommended by EWA. Harvard forbids professors to accept research funds which cannot be published. Mason added, "I don't know of any covert financing for projects in any Harvard department."