Struik Cries 'Innocent' to Conspiracy Indictment, Plans to Battle In Courts

Dirk Jan Struik, professor of Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said Saturday that he will fight his indictment of conspiracy to overthrow "by force" the governments of Massachusetts and the United States--to the highest courts in the land if necessary.

Struik, indicted last Thursday by a Middlesex County Grand Jury, pleaded innocent in Superior Court Friday and was freed on $10,000 ball. Later, his lawyer hinted that political pressure had been brought on the District Attorney to get the indictment.

Although the Grand Jury charges have been a closely guarded secret, it is rumored that six new indictments will follow soon. Like Struik, several "University faculty members have been publicly charged with "subversive activities."

Struik, an internationally known mathematician, specializing in geometry, has been on M.I.T.'s faculty for 25 years. He was officially charged with violating a Massachusetts' General Law, entitled "Prohibition of Anarchy."

How Charge Started

The charges developed from testimony delivered during July by Herbert A. Philbrick, an F.B.I. agent who operated incognito for nine years within the Communist party. Philbrick contended that Struik and Harry E. Winner of Malden, Mass, who also has been indicted, belonged to the same secret cell he belonged to.

Struik says he has never been a card-carrying Communist, but rather a "good Marxist." He defines Marxism as a "conception of the world"; communism, he maintains, is a political party.

Emphatically denying that he plots or even advocates the overthrow of the government, Struik believes that many "abuses have reduced the government to despotism" and that it is the "duty of the people to throw off their fetters through the many ways provided for changing our government." He gays he does not believe in change through force and violence.

Declines to Answer

During the July hearing before the House Un-American. Activities Committee at Washington, Struik declined to answer any of the 125 questions asked of him. He defends this by saying: "People say I have something to hide when I refused to answer. But this refusal was based on the fifth amendment to the Constitution. Today, if you say "yes, I was a Communist," you are persecuted under the Smith Act; if you say "no," they will get a perjurer to testify against you; and if you won't answer, they hold you in contempt."

In an interview at his Belmont home on Friday, Struik said that he is convinced that he can bring in all necessary evidence to prove his innocence. He said that he had never met informer Philbrick, does not know why Philbrick "picked on me," and holds no personal grudge against him--now or before.

In agreeing with certain tenets of the Communist Party, Struik claims they have done good in "their fight for civil rights for minorities."

"I disagree with certain elements of party discipline," he continued. "I like to think for myself."

At this point of the interview, his lawyer, Oliver S. Allen, interjected: "I believe pressure has been brought upon the District Attorney to bring this indictment." He would not elaborate any further at the time.

This is the first indictment under the Massachusetts General Law statute, passed originally in 1919, which makes it a criminal offense to "advocate, teach, or incite the violent overthrow of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts." It was amended in 1948 to include the federal government too.

Struik plans to wago an extensive campaign for the repeal of this and similar laws through this case. He hopes to enlist support from University faculty members and students here. In past years, he has spoken to the John Reed Club, a University Marxist discussion group, and other similar organizations.