Four Professors Hit 'Procedure' In Senate Investigation of Tsuru

Four College professors have attacked Congressional action in the case of Tsuru Shigeto '35, visiting lecturer in Economics, a recent witness before the Senate Internal Subcommittee.

In a letter to the New York Times, Edwin O. Reischauer, professor of Far Eastern Languages; J. K. Galbraith '99, professor of Economics; John K. Fairbanks '29, professor of History; and Seymour E. Harris '20, professor of Economics, charged the Subcommittee with "damaging procedures" in the Tsuru case that have had "serious" repercussions in Japan.

Tsuru, who returned to Harvard this year as a visiting lecturer, was subpoenaed before the Eastland Subcommittee and questioned for two days about his activities as a student in this country. Tsuru freely admits that he "acted, spoke, and wrote like a communist in this period" but his beliefs have changed.

The letter points out the the incident has been looked upon by the Japanese public "as an act of unimaginable rudeness to a foreign guest." The professors go on to say that Tsuru has been criticized in the Japanese press both for having answered the subcommittees' questions and for supposedly giving secret testimony, a charge the letter calls "groundless."

He also was attacked for not leaving the country as soon as he was subpoenaed, although the professors write that by staying he took "the courageous course."

Reischauer said last night that Tsuru "had been terribly hurt" by the experience and that "he thought that he had been embarrassing the people that had invited him to this country." Reischauer added that this incident has given the Communists an excellent opportunity to "stir up a furor."