THE MAIL

(Ed. Note--The Crimson does not necessarily endorse opinions expressed in printed communications. No attention will be paid to anonymous letters and only under special conditions, at the request of the writer, will names be withheld.)

To the Editor of the CRIMSON:

It grieves me to have to call to the attention of the student body a situation which within itself is a mute accusation of the collective integrity of the House residents. However, I consider it my duty to bring this ugly thing to the light so that the situation may be rectified and the silent accuser removed forever from our Houses.

I have noticed in the public lavatories of the Houses that a certain commodity, a commodity that is indispensable to any bathroom, has been marked along the edges of the rolls with colored crayons. Obviously the only possible reason for ornamenting this necessity in this manner is to prevent the theft of the said commodity by the House residents. I have never filched anything from the Houses' public lavatories, for I am a thoughtful boy who keeps a list of petty purchases to be made on the next trip to the Square; but I cannot help feeling viciously insulted when I am brought face to face with such a situation. I cannot help feeling that something should be done to bring about the demise of anything so subtly derogatory to the character of all Harvard men. The only thing I can think of is to appeal directly and frankly to those instincts of honor which lie latent in the breasts of our most confirmed evildoers.

After all it is a commodity the scarcity of which is due rather to forgetfulness than to expensiveness. Since the hey-day of the great Sears Roebuck catalogues the manufacturers have realized the necessity of an efficient yet economically priced product. I beg you to urge the students through your powerful editorial columns to join in the fight to expel this insidiously constant reminder that Harvard men are petty thieves. Let us not sell our honor for ten cents. Let us have no more marking with colored crayons of objects which at one time or another have to come to the notice of everyone. J. Reginald Burlingame '36.