The Issue in New Jersey

...Specifically, Brown would like to have "comments" (in con­fidence, of course) on the "class­room expressions of such men as Genovese '-at this point he lists the names of three other faculty members and then throws in an "etc," for inclusiveness...

...In other words, he is appealing to any mal­content who might have some griev­ance or gossip against his former professors to come forward, anon­ymously, and add wood to the bon­fire...

...Eventually, he asked the Rutgers Board of Gov­ernors to make a full investigation of the Genovese case...

...the Governor began to feel the heat...

...A man named Clarence W. Brown of Metu­chen has sent out letters to all re­cent history graduates of Rutgers (and perhaps others), requesting, "for the sake of our country and the young men who are now de­fending it," the "help" of the alumni...

...Hughes is a passive liberal with a public record that an aca­demic dean might describe as solid­if-not-distinguished...

...Three officers of the Rutgers history department even appended an ad­mirable statement to the report, de­fending Genovese's scholarly and personal reputation and denouncing a "mood of hysteria," This satisfied Hughes, who reaffirmed his view that, deplorable as Genovese's opinions were, the man's "academic freedom" must be protected...

...In August, the Board reported back that, although they were "completely out of sympathy" with Genovese's views, they found no evidence that he had circulated his political opinions within his class­room or had done anything "in the performance of his academic duties that would constitute grounds for preferring charges against him...

...Veteran's groups and fright-monger­ing commentators played variations on the theme, conjuring up visions of innocent Rutgers students who would soon serve in Vietnam, be­reaved taxpayers tearfully waiting for the coffins of their loved ones to return...

...Although opinion, inflamed and otherwise, has crossed party lines, with prominent Repub­licans (including Senator Case and the powerful boss of Bergen County, Walter Jones) supporting Governor Hughes, and some Democrats echo­ing Dumont's strident exhortations, it appears that the matter of the election has already been decided, New Jersey has its share of Right­wingers who believe in a conspiracy theory of history (but, ironically, much of the "backlash" of fear about Professor Genovese and his opinions seems to be coming from urban Italian-Catholics who are normally Democrats), yet they have never been powerful enough to elect a candidate for major office...

...He won a spirited primary from another state senator on the issue of a broad-based tax...

...Then Dumont started looking about for issues on which to con­front incumbent Richard Hughes and, finding none, couldn't resist the opportunity to dredge up the hapless Professor Genovese...

...Meanwhile, some voters have recalled Dumont's role in another cause celebre, several years ago, when he opposed the ap­pointment of a New Jersey attorney to the Rutgers Board of Governors because the attorney had once de­fended a man accused of taking the Fifth Amendment...

...Since this last matter was ruled un­constitutional in 1943, it is perhaps understandable that voters have overlooked Dumont's sympathy for it...

...More­over, Dumont's failure thus far to offer any kind of comprehensive, discriminating program will cost him votes from even those who fear a Red Rutgers, The one de­velopment which could hurt Hughes would be further "aggravation" of the issue by academic radicals: James Mellen, an instructor at Drew University, a Methodist institution in Madison, New Jersey, assumed Genovese's position, almost word for word, at a second teach-in on the Rutgers campus and his con­tract was not renewed as a result...

...then for Geno­vese's dismissal...

...Therefore, unlike most LAWRENCE GRAUMAN JR.,a new con­tributor, has been news director of a Nell' Jersey broadcasting company...

...But let me emphasize that in telling you where 1 stand on certain fundamental questions, it is first to put you on guard against my prejudices as you should be on guard against everyone's, especially your own, and secondly to suggest that no matter how deep the ide­ological and political divisions among us, that it is vital to our country's survival that we find a common basis on which to defend the peace...

...But some public-spirited citizens have now set out to pene­trate this annoying obstacle...

...One of the problems in affairs of this kind is that no one really knows what goes on in a professor's class­room, except, hopefully, a few of his students...

...Genovese's candid disclosure ap­parently passed unnoticed at the time, and the Rutgers community resumed its largely apolitical ways...

...The primary was largely decided on that question, though Sandman ran a strong race with little organization support...

...Republicans have been praying that a glow of acceptability and (even limited) achievement will spread from William Scranton...

...One of the speakers was a 34 year old professor of American history, Eugene Genovese, who be­gan with some qualifying remarks: "As 1 understand the "teach-in,' it is not in any sense an enlarged classroom, but a place where pro­fessors and students can speak their minds on vital questions in a manner not ordinarily proper in class...

...I ought to make my framework clear at the outset and, in any case, I have no wish to hide any of my private intellectual or political com­mitments...

...This innovation in public rhetoric which is now swinging uncertainly between the transience of mere col­legiate novelty and the value of a fresh and serious academic exercise -made its New Jersey debut here in April at Rutgers, the State Uni­versity...

...Noted scholars,' the Union re­marks, "are reluctant to accept as­signments at institutions of learning where their writings, thoughts and expressions are subject to legisla­tive review...

...About all they disagreed on was the Genovese case, and that has become the issue of the campaign...

...New Jersey, which Senator Case carried by less than 5,000 votes in his first election, is-or was-to be a crucial test for the Republicans, and perhaps the only real one, since John Lindsay is running a "non­partisan" campaign...

...New Jersey's election will be the second most important in the coun­try this fall...

...Brown even offers to "meet personally" or to take telephone calls...

...I welcome it...

...Recently both governors Scranton and George Romney of Michigan came into the state to campaign for Du­mont...

...Then, in early summer, State Sen­ator Wayne Dumont, the Republi­can candidate for governor, in a fervor of opportunity seized upon the professor's remarks (but only an abbreviated version which in­cluded his confession of Marxism and his hopes for the "impending Vietcong victory") and l'affaire Genovese escalated into what is now the major, and indeed only, issue of the gubernatorial cam­paign...

...In speech after speech he continued to call for the profes­sor's resignation, for a more inten­sive investigation into his back­ground, for an inquiry into the man­ner of all appointments at Rutgers...

...It was thought that Dumont had a good chance to apply the lessons of the debacle of '64, since his "image" of late-ac­cording to those who gauge such things-was becoming increasingly moderate and even-tempered...

...Though the battle for the state­house may have been already lost, another, less public and more omi­nous, campaign has just begun...

...It was apparently forgotten that he had been a bitter critic of the Supreme Court, had opposed reapportionment, and had supported compulsory flag saluting...

...He favored a sales tax for the Garden State which is something of a bucolic anachronism in these matters while his opponent, Charles Sand­man, was implacably opposed to any such idea...

...of my distinguished colleagues here this morning, 1 do not fear or re­gret the impending Vietcong victory in Vietnam...

...Dumont started off well enough...

...Now it has turned out that a campaign whose managers were pretending they had never heard of Barry Gold­water has come to rest on excesses for which there are no corollaries even in the record of the intem­perate Arizonan...

...At first he called for an investigation of the Rutgers teach-in...

...He ap­peared before the annual meeting of the New Jersey Civil Liberties Union-the only major politician to do so-and was flattered by their appreciation...

...This week the New Jersey Civil Liberties Union, in a special state­ment, observed that "the image of the University has been severely damaged" by the Genovese affair...

...He has a LIberty number...

...Rockefeller, Lindsay, and Clifford Case to neighbor Dumont...

...Finding it increasingly difficult to come up with a real issue for his campaign, however, Dumont started pressing the Genovese affair for all it was worth...

...As newspapers and minor politicians picked up the cry...

...They agreed that the drought conditions were deplorable, and that a new jet­port could be located in the South Jersey pine barrens...

...By spring, Dumont was even getting a not inhospitable once-over from Democrats and liberals...

...Dumont and Hughes met in a face-to-face debate and found they agreed on the need for a broad­based tax, for better schools, for the state to pick up the tab of the deficit-ridden commuter trains...

...With the vigilantes mobilizing around the state, and with rumors growing that the whole affair will assume even larger pro­portions after the election, includ­ing, possibly, the participation of the quaint House Committee on Un American Activities, "legislative re­view" is not half the problem...

...Those of you who know me know that 1 am a Marxist and a Socialist...