A curious side light: Joe Butterworth, ancient, bent, clearly not in the best of health, was a Chaucerian scholar at the University of Washington. He was called before the Canwell Committee and, while he admitted quite freely in other places that, yes, he was a member of the Communist Party, he refused to answer the questions put to him by the Committee.

Mind you, this was before "taking the Fifth" became the standard (and safe) response to such questioning. Old Joe Butterworth, in his somewhat tremulous old voice, told the Committee "You cannot force this body to testify against itself!" As it turned out, he was the only one of the uncooperative witness that was NOT charged with contempt after the hearings were concluded. Significant? I've always wondered if the lawyers who represented other victims of such legislative harassment did not study the transcripts of the Canwell hearings and say to themselves, "Eureka! This old goat has stumbled on the right reply! The refuge for our clients is in the FIfth Amendment, not the First!"

Let me also point out the Pete Seeger, knowing he was risking his freedom, did NOT "take the Fifth." He stood up for the rights of all Americans to their guaranteed freedom of speech and association and declared that the FIRST Amendment assured him of such rights. With that courageous stance, he won my everlasting admiration. And Pete still earns it every day of his life!

Sandy