BOOKS AND LADDERS

More than one evil consequence attends the forthcoming destruction of the Rogers Building. This measure deprives the School of the Drama of its only home, turning the students of stagecraft all too melodramatically out into the snow. And far more disastrously, it paves the way for a fire-station the evils of which to Georgian facade can palliate.

The college has indeed sold its birthright for a mess of fire-engines. From this strategic point where they cannot come or go without disturbing the whole Yard and a dozen outlying buildings, the big red trucks will spread bedlam wherever Harvard men have their classes. From Paine Hall to Emerson, Beethoven will be punctuated with triple alarms and Philosophy with false alarms. Even the Gibralter-like walls of the new chapel will tremble.

In the interest of ordinary peace and quiet, the University ought to make a vigorous effort to buy back the Rogers Building from the City of Cambridge, or otherwise persuade the Fire Department to sport its sirens elsewhere.