To the Editors:

The Committee for Public Justice is a national organization recently formed to protect constitutional rights and liberties. One of our major concerns is the threat posed to the basic rights of speech and assembly by the secret infiltration of political groups by military and police authorities, and the use of paid informers. The Committee is particularly concerned about cases where secret agents not only join groups in universities and elsewhere, but also act as provocateurs within these groups.

In order to expose and contest such practices, the Committee is now conducting an investigation of local, state, and federal surveillance. We invite facts and testimony which may be relevant to this inquiry.

It will be helpful for us to learn the names and addresses of groups or persons who have been under surveillance; the time and place where the surveillance occurred and the methods used; the consequences of the surveillance; and the identity of the agencies or officials involved. Similar information about situations where police acted as provocateurs will be especially useful.

The information offered should be as fully documented as possible and the correspondent’s name and address included for verification. Communications will be strictly confidential and will, where appropriate, provide the basis for further inquiry by our Committee staff.

Roger Wilkins

Chairman, Committee for Public Justice

50 West 57th Street, Room 707

New York, New York 10019

This Issue

January 28, 1971