EDUCATIONAL FIRE-TRAPS

It is not often that the optimism of youth turns to dire forebodings about the future, but there are times when such thoughts are thrust forcibly upon us. The present case in point is the possibility of a fire in the Yard--a possibility suggested by the frequency of smaller blazes in Cambridge since last fall, especially those in Claverly and Bertram Halls. Fortunately no great damage has yet been done, nor any lives endangered. But could the same be said if a fire were to break out in Sever or in Harvard?

Weak floors, plaster walls, and wooden stairways are not conducive to the safety of the hundreds who make use of these recitations halls each day. Nor does the absence of adequate fire-escapes improve conditions. True, Sever boasts a well hidden system of chain ladders as antiquated as they are inefficient, and Harvard has its vines and roof-balcony; but the only effective work which these appurtenances can accomplish is to cause the imprisoned undergraduate to spend valuable lecture hours in wondering whether it would be better in case of fire, to trust to the firemen or slide down a rain pipe.

There should be at least some measure of safety assured to those who seek education at a higher university. Although it may be considered sacrilege to adorn historic buildings with such prosale things as fire-escapes, yet sentiment must sometimes give way to common-sense.