Favoring Co-operative Changes.

To the Editors of the Crimson:

In the communications to the CRIMSON written by opponents of the new plan for incorporation of the Co-operative Society there have been two main classes of objections: First, to incorporation under any conditions; secondly, to incorporation under the present plan.

One of the chief objections under the latter head is that the stockholders will be all-powerful, and the members "will get merely what privileges are conceded to them by the stockholders." It has further been stated that "the stockholders proposed are not satisfactory," because they are not men "associated with large and successful business enterprises."

The opponents of the plan have been proceeding on the supposition then that the five members of the Faculty proposed as stockholders are either incompetent or dishonest, or both. They suggest vague misfortunes which are likely to overwhelm the Society as soon as the stockholders get control. But they do not point to any specific harm that is likely to befall, and if they stop to think a moment, they will see how absurd such a supposition is. Is it conceivable that members of the Faculty, who are legally bound by the conditions on which they receive their stock not to make personal profit out of the business, whose interests are closely bound with those of the students, who are peculiarly subject to popular opinion, and finally who are under the control of the President and Fellows of Harvard University, would do anything dishonest or even contrary to the wish of a majority of the ticket holders?

And as for incompetency, the Society is now run by the Board of Directors subject to the ultimate control of 2500 members, most of whom have no business experience at all and take little interest in the affairs of the Society, while under the new plan the ultimate control would be in the hands of five men, who are older and more experienced than almost any other members of the Society. The opponents of the plan claim that 2500 students, with no business experience, can run the business well, and yet they protest against allowing five men to run it, each one of whom is more competent and experienced than any of the students.  ROGER ERNST