Consumer First Aid

Before the war, there was a vigorous Student Council committee known as the Committee on Consumer's Aid and Unfair Practices. In essence, the committee served as a Better Business Bureau for Harvard Square, protecting students against unscrupulous merchants and fly-by-night outfits out to make a quick buck at student expense.

This committee would help students who thought they had been bilked to prepare Small Claims Court actions, and it often conducted investigations of its own to make sure that the unsuspecting purchaser got a square deal at retail or repair establishments.

Unfortunately, the war and its aftermath have not brought in their wake any sudden upturn in business ethics. And while most local tradesmen treat students fairly, there are always a few on the periphery of the Square business world who are governed by the famous motto of P. T. Barnum. The recent rash of threatened suits against a local furniture dealer is evidence of this condition.

Thus the function that this pre-war Council committee performed is one that the post-war Council might also devote its time to with profit. While the Council's Committee on Student Welfare stands ready to listen to student complaints, it has fallen down both in publicizing this service and in taking positive action to protect the student along the lines laid out by its pre-war predecessor. A more vigorous showing in this endeavor would be of great service to the student body, and this function is one that the Council is probably able to handle better than any other organization.