Council Votes $200 Decrease In Appropriation For 1944 Smoker

In an attempt to find a new solution for the problem of scholarship funds, the Student Council decided last night to cut the amount of money given to the annual Freshman Smoker. This probably means that from now on there will be a return to the ancient tradition of a jovial get-together to give the Yardlings a chance to let off spring steam.

For the past few years the Council has followed a policy of contributing $300 each year to the Smoker Committee to enable them to bring "name" entertainers on from New York to give the Freshmen a mammoth blowout early in May.

$100 This Year

Under the new plan, as recommended by Eugene D. Keith '42, Council Representative for Freshman Affairs, and passed by the Council, only $100 will be given to the Yardlings this year and henceforward, along with a recommendation that the Smoker Committee try to raise more money by itself.

This will mean, according to Keith, that the more efficient the Committee is, the better the Smoker will be. The more money they raise and the harder they work, the better entertainers they will be able to secure. In any case, the celebration will necessarily be much simpler and more informal.

However, the tendency toward limitation of the scope of the affair will be healthy in two ways, the Council report stated.

Money for Scholarships

First, it will release needed money for scholarships. Since the money used for the Smoker is to be taken from the expected profits of the Redbook and the Jubilee, the extra funds will be tagged especially for scholarships to needy students in the same class which made the profit. A sinking fund will also be set aside for possible losses on the Redbook and Jubilee in bad years.

Second, it will discourage upperclassmen from crashing the party and will restore it to its original status of a Freshman get-together.

The Council also voted a sum of $75 to the Friend's Service Committee for aid to civilians in Europe and appropriations to the Community Fund, the Cambridge Red Cross, and the Salvation Army.