Bookworms Without Honor

Examination jitters have caused a serious outbreak of lawlessness among students in regard to returning books taken out overnight from House libraries. In view of the extra strain put on the House libraries from the unavailability of Boylston this semester, the situation has assumed such proportions that it threatens the continuance of the honor system used in House and all other University libraries.

Last Sunday a total of 600 books were taken out overnight from the seven House libraries; by 11 o'clock Monday morning 86 of them had not been returned. Keyes D. Metcalf, Librarian of the College, has pointed out that in most other colleges a stinging fine awaits such offenders, and he fears that unless the present situation is remedied similar penal measures may replace the lenient black-list process.

An appeal to rationality should suffice to make such primitive methods unnecessary. It is the age-old case of people agreeing to certain restrictions for mutual convenience; a selfish and unenlightened fraction of this group can destroy this convenience for the whole community.