Ford In Africa

To the Editors of The Crimson:

Having recently returned from several years as the South Africa correspondent of The New York Times, I read with interest your reporter's account of Tozamile Botha's remarks at Harvard on the issue of U.S. investment in that country.

Given the space constrictions October 24, the summary nature of the report was understandable. Nonetheless, it seemed to me that the story lacked essential background that your readers unfamiliar with South Africa would need for a fuller understanding of the investment problem.

Mr. Botha's remarks about the Ford Motor Company's employment practices in South Africa were those of a man who has experienced those practices first hand, and there are certainly those in South Africa who would share his assessment. But for fairness to Ford, I believe your story would have done well to note that several independent surveys, South African and American, have found Ford to be among the industrial leaders in the field of labor reform.

No doubt much can still be done, even within the constraints of South African law. There are credible arguments for the view that even the best American employers would advance the cause of racial justice more certainly by pulling out of South Africa than by remaining. But if the issue is to be fairly debated it is surely not enough to chronicle a highly critical assessment of a key U.S. company's performance without offering a balancing view.

Needless to say, I hold no interest in Ford. Nor do I write on behalf of my newspaper, but as an individual with a strong concern for South Africa's future. J.F. Burns   GSAS