THE MAIL

To the Editors of the Crimson:

I am unfamiliar with the regulations which the Military Science Department has laid down for those students who were fortunate enough to be admitted to the course. I choose to think that the blame does not lie with the officers in charge, but rather with the students themselves. I refer to the actions of a number of the Mil Sci men, whose respect for the United States Army and for the uniform of the Army is so small as to lead them to don those same uniforms, issued to them for drill purposes only, on weekend evenings for the sole purpose of obtaining half-price admission to the Boston theatres. The theatres have adopted the low admission price as a service and a favor to the low-paid men who are on active duty as full-time soldiers in a fighting army--not for a few Harvard men who spend a few hours a week in light drill. It is a sad commentary on the Harvard student body as a whole and on the entire ROTC setup, that these same small tight-fisted children are the future officers of our Army.

Still less deserving of respect are those who go to the extent of removing the ROTC insignia from their collars and the VERITAS shields from their overseas caps. If my small knowledge of military law is at all accurate, the men in the latter group are guilty of a courtmartial offence, namely that of wearing a uniform to which they are not entitled.

I can think of no way in which the Mil Sci Department can control the situation. It is up to the men themselves to develop necessary self-respect, if the men under their command are to have respect for them. William J. Fischman '43.