'Utility' Plea Fails to Halt Law Memorial

Despite opposition voiced last December by student leaders, the Law School Faculty is pressing plans for the construction of a "Treasure Room" to store the School's 25,000 rare legal volumes.

At the Faculty's request, the Law School Association, representing 18,000 alumni, has announced a campaign to raise $100,000 for the book repository, which will serve as a memorial for the School's 200 World War I and II dead. Already the Association's officers, headed by ex-Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson, have donated $5,000 to the project.

Committee in Opposition

In a meeting last December, heads of the five leading Law School extra-curricular activities had indicated that a majority of them would prefer "a more utilitarian" project, such as a dining hall or a new dormitory. However, their opinion was never made public; and few students at the School are aware of the controversy.

Reginald H. Smith, Jr. '37, treasurer of the Law School Association, voiced official rebuttal last night to the request for a more "useful" memorial. "Nothing will have greater utilitarian value, beauty, and dignity" than the Treasure Room. It "can be used by scholars from all over the world," he stated.

Air Conditioned

The room, on the second floor of Langdell Hall, will be air-conditioned and humidity-controlled to prevent deterioration of the valuable documents it will contain, several of which date back to 1400.