Charities Total $18,177; Sapers Attacks Politics

In its final report to the Student Council this week the Combined Charities Committee announced it had allocated $17,689.87 to various charities in 1952-53. The total amount collected in the Committee's one week fund drive last fall was $18,177.27.

Simultaneously, committee chairman Carl Sapers '53 charged that involvement in student politics had weakened the drive's prestige, and warned against undue interference by the Student Council in the Committee's future policies.

In a letter to council president Paul D. Sheats '54, which accompanied the report, Sapers said:

"Unfortunately, and I hope coincidentally, two of the three drives I have worked on at Harvard have gotten involved in student politics. Although the additional publicity can be rationalized into an asset, the loss to the prestige of the charities is great."

Peculiar Position

Sapers called his position as chairman "peculiar," because he took office less out of obligation to the Council than "in a sense of duty to the under-privileged of the world." The Council should try to alter the Committee's policy only when the chairman "seriously falters from the latter obligation."

Six houses topped their last year's record for contributions in the fall drive, with Lowell's $2,599.86 leading the others. The Yard and Dudley, combined, contributed the largest sum, $4,795.38, despite the fact that gifts from freshmen fell off $700 from the 1951 drive. Eliot, Winthrop, Leverett, Adams, Kirkland, and Dunster followed Lowell in total contributions.

In his letter, Sapers also defended the Committee against charges that it had tried to pressure students into allocating money to certain charities by printing their names on the contribution cards.