THE GERMAN NAMES

In an obscure corner of the Memorial Church there hangs today a cardboard plaque incribed with three names, a replica of the tablet which is soon to be placed there in memory of those who died in the Great War fighting for the German cause. The effort and financial support which have made the memorial possible are the contributions of a few individuals to a cause which they regard as just.

Last year in its editorial columns the CRIMSON expressed the opinion that the German names should be included in a memorial tablet dedicated to all Harvard's World War dead, and that the Corporation was unjustified in interpreting the unexpressed opinion of the donors so as to exclude them. Despite an apparent futility, the CRIMSON wishes to reiterate that stand, and to maintain further, in view of subsequent events, that a courageous expression of opinion would have reflected far more honor upon the Corporation than a policy which has sought, by its timid half-steps, to appease or to delude possible criticism.

However much one may deprecate a policy which depended for its success upon absolute silence, that method was deemed necessary by those few men who were alone able to secure the commemoration of the German names. And with the end in view, rather than the means, the CRIMSON tacitly agreed to cooperate. The names are there; but only the passage of time can remove the scars of bitter feeling which have marred the opening of Harvard's War Memorial.