Club 100 Host For Red Cross Lunch Today

Cut by the refusal of the Cambridge Red Cross to abandon the Club 100 as their meeting place today, the University-wide Committee's picketers completed the coldest five hours in the eight-day tenure of the line at 12:45 o'clock this morning.

Walking an endless circle in windy, below-freezing temperatures, the pickets heard with disappointment the decision of the local Red Cross to hold the final report luncheon of their current drive at the Club. The decision was made in spite of numerous protests over the past few days by Red Cross members and representatives of Cambridge civic unity groups. The protesters argued that use of the discriminating Club would constitute endorsement of racial intolerance.

Red Cross Defends Action

The Red Cross action was defended by General Chairman Freelon Morris on the grounds that there was not sufficient time to notify tht 150-odd members invited to the luncheon. It was learned, however, that the Red Cross board has been aware of the situation for over a week.

Two nearby and available church meeting places were offered to the Red Cross as substitutes and turned down by Morris yesterday.

Red Cross Statement

A statement from the Red Cross read in part: "We understand there has been a racial controversy at the Club. The Red Cross cannot take sides in a controversy of this sort." They asserted though, that the services of the group are available to all, regardless of "race, creed, or color."

Meanwhile, the ten men working the picket line last night were fed coffee and doughnuts by Mrs. Noyes Collinson, Mrs. Louise Boyden, and Miss Jane Saddier of the Cambridge Community Relations Committee, one of the civic groups that have announced their support of the action against the Club 100.