INTER-HOUSE EATING

The tentative plan for inter-House eating, which was advanced yesterday, may, by its suddenness; surprise many who had come to believe that a process which has been characterized by alleged buck passing and a hasty, ill-advised experiment was to find its obscure end in an effective committee cubbyhole. For these and for others who have regarded the problem as trivial the best refutation is to be found in the admirable report which accompanies the announcement.

There, in a few short paragraphs, are explained the fundamentals which have lurked behind the superficial simplicity of the question. Men who have the success of the House Plan at heart, who feel a responsibility for the development of "corporate personalities" in the Houses must have experienced two successive reactions to the proposal: first, that it was essentially a contradiction of their plans; and secondly, after time had allayed the original fears, that the influence of inter-House dining unless strictly circumscribed, would, by its very nature, be subversive to House spirit.

Such reactions were only natural; far from being hidden, they peep forth from every line of the report. Seen in such a light, the restrictions appear not arbitrary but just. There are bound to be divergences of opinion, but most fair-minded men will discount the past delay and sense that here they have received an intelligent, workable concession.