Foley Criticizes University Tax-Exempt Land Purchases

Decrying the land grabbing policies of the University, Representative John J. Foley of Cambridge last night urged that 10 per cent of the prevailing tax rate believed as a service charge on College dormitories. He was speaking in Brooks House under the auspices of the Student Union.

"My interest is only in Cambridge," said Foley when questioned as to the universal purport of what he said. He showed figures proving that one third of the city property was tax exempt and 75 per cent of this was Harvard's. "If all of this property were taxable," said he, "the city tax rate would be down 15 dollars."

His 10 per cent service charge is based on the same sum paid by Congress on the almost valueless slums in Cambridge.

He referred to former President Eliot's statement, "There will still be grass and tress around College buildings even though the students should increase four or five times." As yet the College is a little over twice as large as when Eliot spoke and therefore Foley cited the land acquired in the last 25 years as the basis for his statement about land grabbing.