Scranton Says Nixon Backs Panel

William W. Scranton, chairman of the President's Commission on Campus Unrest, said yesterday that President Nixon's letter commenting upon the commission's report substantially supports the group's findings.

"Some phrases in the letter seem to read negatively and critically in tone, yet their meaning agreed with the report in substance," Scranton said.

The commission was formed to investigate the violence that resulted in the deaths of students at Kent State and Jackson State last spring. The panel's report was submitted in September, and the President's response was made public in a letter to Scranton Saturday.

The report emphasized the special role that the President must play in the effort at national reunification. Nixon stressed that many diverse elements of the society have responsibility to "bring us together again."

Scranton, however, said that he felt that Nixon's comments "are in complimentary agreement with the report" and that press and political interpretations have unfairly "pointed the finger of accusation at the President."

Two other members of the committee agreed that Nixon had given the report careful consideration, while a third recommended a national governors' conference to underscore national unity.

Joseph Rhodes, a Junior Fellow at Harvard and the youngest member of the commission, took issue with the President's letter, saying, "The letter really doesn't say much about the substance of our report. We urged the President to deal with the fundamental issues in a way that will be a reconciling force."