THE HARVARD UNION.

The Harvard Union, organized in March, 1880, has had a most successful career. The secretary's books show a membership of about one hundred and eighty. Of this number 28 are from '83; 24 from '84; 15 from '85, and 4 from '86; the rest either being graduates of the college or members of the various schools connected with the university. The last report of the executive committee states "that interest in the debates of the society increased during the past year. The subjects for debate chosen during the last half year, 'Woman Suffrage,' 'Prohibition,' 'Free Trade,' 'Chinese Immigration' and 'Webster's 7th of March Speech,' show the marked preference of the union for great political questions rather than for great social, moral or religious ones." The primary object of this society is to give its members experience in the art of debate by the discussion of questions of public interest. The advantages of being connected with such a society as this are well understood by every one. Any student of the university may become a member by signing the constitution and paying a small fee. Connected with the union, but entirely separate from it in its membership and financial management, is the Harvard Reading Room. The reading room is in lower Massachusetts, and the papers and periodicals taken by the society last year included the following : Dailies - New York Times and Herald (with Sunday edition), the Boston Herald (with Sunday edition), Advertiser and Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Springfield Republican and New York Graphic; weeklies - Harpers', Frank Leslie's, Puck, The Nation, London Graphic, London Illustrated News, Louisville Courier-Journal, Spirit of the Times, Vicksburg Herald, Charleston News and Courier. The management proceeds on a strictly cash basis, no paper being subscribed to until it can be paid for. The reading room has been in past years deservedly one of the most popular of the college institutions. The price of membership is two dollars, which includes a key, admitting the possessor to the reading room at all times during the year. The committee are Mr. Middleton, '85, ex officio, and Messrs. E. A. Hibbard, '84, and S. M. Hayes, '84.