H-Yenching Unit Asks State Raise Of Holdings Limit

A bill to permit the Harvard-Yenching Institute to hold a maximum of $25 million in real and personal property met with some opposition in the State Senate yesterday.

The Institute was formed in 1928 "to carry on research and educational work in Oriental studies" in cooperation with the University here and in the Far East.

Although Serge Elisseeff, head of the Institute and professor of Far Eastern Languages, called the bill a mere formality, Senator William D. Fleming of Worcester led the opposition against it. One of the bill's proponents, Senator Hastings Keith of Plymouth explained that the Institute's assets already exceeded the present legal limit of $10 million.

According to Keith the securities owned by the Institute have risen from $8 million to $17 million in value because of the "recent inflation." Speaking in defense of the bill, he warned that the Institute's trustees may seek a charter in Connecticut, where there is no limit to corporate holdings.

Fleming called the proposal "another piece of special legislation." On Fleming's motion, debate on the bill was postponed until next Monday, to permit him to find out "more about this Institute."