COMMON COURTESY

To the Editors of The Crimson:

I was much amused to see that The Crimson has again lived up to its high standards of Harvard journalism. Recalling the labeling of the H-R Republicans as "punk-ass Republicans," we now see The Crimson taking it upon itself to recommend that Mr. Richardson's invitation to speak on Class Day be withdrawn [Editorial, May 14]. That The Crimson should strain all bounds of common courtesy and decency in suggesting the withdrawal of an invitation (no matter to whom it was extended) reminds me of a very similar situation a few short months ago with the rescinding of the invitation to speak extended to Mr. William Shockley by the Harvard Law School Forum. Even more so now than last fall, The Crimson has taken the absurd and awkward position that the Class Day committee (who I presume represents the entire class', and not just The Crimson's political leanings) tell one of the most respected men in the United States that his alma mater is no longer interested in hearing from him.

Again drawing on the parallel between Mr. Shockley's invitation and Mr. Richardson's, one has to wonder how substantial The Crimson's grounds for rescinding the Class Day committee's invitation are. In each case, it has been a matter of freedom of speech under the First Amendment. While it is difficult to do, I can understand why The Crimson might have called for the withdrawal of Mr. Shockley's invitation on humanitarian grounds, but any such action on the invitation of Mr. Richardson can only be purely political.

Furthermore, there is an acknowledged possibility that Mr. Shockley might not have been qualified to speak on his topic, but given the nature of a Class Day speech, how can one possibly accuse Mr. Richardson of not being qualified to speak? Whether the editorial board endorses his policies or not, they certainly must admit that Mr. Richardson has rendered a fine example of how to lead a successful life in government, to the point that he managed to be one of the very few members of the Nixon Administration to escape unscathed from the multitude of Watergate scandals. Mr. Richardson's Law School Forum appearance filled Sanders Theater to overflowing; I would be most interested to see how many seniors really would not like to hear him speak. Bill Nusbaum '76