NEW LINES

The present system of telephone communication is especially unsatisfactory in buildings otherwise as modern as the new Houses. The resident of Lowell, Eliot, or Dunster, who has not a private telephone, can be reached only by telegram; he cannot make calls except by using the pay-phones near the Common Rooms. In the older buildings of Kirkland, Winthrop, and Leverett, the situation, though not ideal, is somewhat better. The pay-phone in each entry provides the convenience of limited use to students who cannot afford a private line. Randolph Hall has a still more convenient arrangement: all suites are provided with telephones, and residents are charged five cents for each outside call.

The installation of pay-phones in all the entries of the new houses would be a partial solution. This could be done with no expense to the students or to the University provided the phones were used in excess of the monthly minimum set by the Telephone company. Extension of the Randolph plan, however, would give the best solution. The connecting of telephones would involve comparatively little expense as there are already telephone wires in all the suites of the new Houses; it is probable that this initial expense would be more than balanced by the increase in the number of calls. Switchboards could be put in the various Houses, a fixed charge could be made for each outside call, and it is virtually certain that calls within the buildings could be made without extra expense.