HARVARD SQUARE DEAL: PRO

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

Two students have written to the CRIMSON concerning "The Harvard Square Deal Coupon Book" and the information about it made available to Harvard men, charging "deception." We believe the following quotation from CRIMSON ads and the single sheet of paper listing the 36 offers, which was available at newsstands, prove this is not the case.

We quote: "practical offers from Harvard Square merchants (made) to draw students into their stores" . . ." to know their merchandise and services better"--"Each coupon describes its one or more offers in specific detail; there are NO hidden strings attached"-- "probably you won't use every coupon . . . but more than half are worth from $1.00 to $11.25 each." Obviously, no student is expected to "maximize his interest" by using every offer; some necessarily have a special appeal.

In addition to our printed suggestion "Sec 'The Harvard Square Deal Coupon Book' and judge its value to you, today" each salesperson was advised to ask prospects to check through the book itself to find those particular offers of practical value to them. There can be no deception here.

A careful reading of either the list or the book shows that to obtain the comb one must make a small purchase (twenty-nine cents, in itself representing a twenty cent saving on a common need). There are, however, two offers which do not "involve a small purchase" at all: one is good for a suit pressing job and another for the development of any roll of films. The required purchases are all of items normally bought by many Harvard students.

Similar coupon books have been sold at a number of colleges, and have also been available here in the past. Ronald P. Dutton '65   Charles F. Elmes '55