Six weeks ago, the authors of this article set out to conduct a survey of the problems of academic freedom. Some 42 days wiser, we now realize that what follows is not a survey but only a healthy glance. For every case reported here, we have heard of another, but have had insufficient material for publication. For every one of those in turn, there were probably many others of which we never heard. Even had every infraction been uncovered, every firing been exposed, the picture would still be incomplete. There is no way to tabulate the men who were never hired or the promotions that were never made.

But even in this "glance," we have found that since the end of World War 11, 39 professor have been dismissed or placed on probation, or have resigned; and that there has been legislation in 30 states affecting countless thousands of students and faculty members. We have discovered a total of 40 instances involving professors, students, visiting speakers, and legislative actions, spread over 19 states and the District of Columbia.

In gathering this material, we have done our best to contact all the principals concerned. When this was not possible, we have printed public statements made on both sides of the issue and have refrained from any interpretation.

The articles are arranged so that today's Installment will cover the cases of professors and instructors who have been fired or suspended, or whose positions have been endangered by their political beliefs. In the next two days, we will take up legislative activities in various states and also abrogations, both confirmed and alleged, of student rights.

The University of Washington has over 18,000 students enrolled and attending classes on its Seattle campus. It turns out excellent crews and better than average football teams. Howie Odell, formerly of Yale, coaches the latter. The "U," as it is called by Washingtonians, is pretty typical of large state universities throughout the country. It is, also, typically, extremely sensitive to the state legislature and that body's tugs on the purse strings.

In 1948, the legislature's un-American Affairs Committee, under the chairmanship of Albert F. Canwell, turned its full attention to "subversive" activities on the U of W campus. Canwell, a photographer before his election, said, "the last hope of freedom rests with us." One month later, Canwell outlined his method of nourishing that last hope. "Counsel (for the defendants) . . . may not make objections, cross examine or make speeches."

Canwell imported the same group of witnesses that had been used at almost all other investigations of un-American activities. These witnesses included J. B. Matthews, former investigator for the Dies Committee, a Hearst journalist and the list of "reformed Communists" such as Benjamin Gitlow and George Hewitt. During the course of the committee hearings not only were members of the Washington faculty accused but such other figures as J. Robert Oppenheimer of the Princeton Institute of advanced study, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. '38, of Harvard, and General Dwight D. Eisenhower, were mentioned as men who "fronted" for Communists.

Canwell himself defined Communists in a public statement: "If a person says that in this country Negroes are discriminated against and that there is inequality of wealth there is every reason to believe that person is a Communist."

Reaction Develops

At the time that Canwell was conducting the investigation at the University, public reaction against his methods began to form. Educators and even other legislators complained of the inability of the accused to defend themselves. J. Alfred Schweppe, former dean of the University law school and a past president of the Washington bar, complained that the Canwell Committee itself was "un-American." One of the professors accused of being a Communist, Herbert Phillips, was prevented from replying to the "are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?" question with anything but a yes or no answer when his replies were cut off by the repeated banging of the Canwell gavel. Canwell himself admitted that the gavel was used to "terminate those typical speeches."

In the last elections Canwell and three of the members of his committee were defeated. But on their way out they made several recommendations. They asked that the committee be continued with enlarged powers; that it green the textbooks used in the schools in the State of Washington: and that a person affiliated with three or more "Communist front organizations" be labelled a Communist without recourse to slander or libel action. "Affiliation with recognized Communist front organizations should place the burden of proof as to loyalty on the individual so affiliated," the committee stated.

While the committee was investigating the University, the administration took a friendly attitude toward Canwell's efforts. Professors were requested to cooperate in every way possible with the committee, and the administration went so far as to ask that no faculty member criticize the committee. When Canwell was running for reelection he used testimonials from the president of the Board of Regents and also from President Raymond B. Allen of the University as campaign material. In February of 1949, Allen endorsed the work of the committee and thanked Canwell for his "unfailing courtesy and integrity with all your dealings with the University."

On September 8, 1948, as a result of the findings and publicity of the Canwell committee, the University Faculty Committee on Tenure and Academic Freedom served complaints made by the administration against six faculty members. These men were Ralph H. Gundlach, associate professor of Psychology, Herbert T. Phillips, assistant professor of Philosophy, Joseph Butterworth, associate professor of English, Harold Eby and Garland Ethel of the department of English, and Melville Jacobs of the department of, Anthropology.

The faculty committee conducted its hearings for almost two months and at the conclusion in December of 1948 it recommended that of the six men only Gundlach be dismissed. The report was given to President Allen on January 7 and to the Regents the next day. On January 17, Allen submitted an analysis of the Committee's report and recommended that three men be fired. The Board of Regents finally changed all but one of the committee's findings. This was almost without precedent, the faculty committee's recommendation being considered final.

On January 22, the Regents met for three hours. When they walked out of the meeting, Gundlach, Phillips and Butterworth were unemployed. Eby, Ethel, and Jacobs were on two year probation. Nobody has gone so far as to define probation, but Professor Ethel said, "whatever they require of me I intend to comply."