The Orals Too Easy.

(We invite all men in the University to submit communications on subjects of timely interest, but assume no responsibility for sentiments expressed under this head.)

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

What are the Orals for? I asked. A certain gentleman informed me; he said: "A college man should be able to read intelligently and enjoyably some other language besides English; he should be able to appreciate the great works in French or German. To a Harvard man specializing in the History, Government, and Economics group knowledge of either French or German is indispensable; and the same is true of men specializing in Literature, Philosophy, or the Sciences. One cannot get far in any one of these subjects without a reading knowledge of one of these two languages. A man who has passed the Orals is supposedly able to read French or German with sufficient case so that he will actually turn to works in one or the other of the two languages when he wishes to go more deeply into the subjects in which he is interested. The Orals exist, then, for the purpose of making it necessary for every Harvard man to be able to read either French or German with such facility that, if the need arises, he will be able to refer to a work in French or German and get out of it the desired enjoyment."

Do the Orals accomplish this purpose? Have the men who have passed the Orals sufficient ability to make them wish to turn to works in French or German if they desire from them information or pleasure? A few, perhaps, have such ability, but in the great majority of cases the answer is most decidedly in the negative. The Orals are inadequate; they do not accomplish what they set out to do.

I am not maintaining that a good reading knowledge of French or German is not highly desirable; I think that an educated man most decidedly should have such knowledge. But it is necessary to know very little French or German to be able to translate haltingly the few previously studied lines before the lenient instructor. Yet only such feeble knowledge is required by the existing oral examination.

The proposed tutorial course and substitution of a written examination as a last resort only render the Orals more useless and inadequate. The original purpose of the Orals, although poorly carried out in the present method, is completely destroyed by alleviating the already too insufficient examination.

The purpose of the Orals is good, but as they exist today they are a joke among those who have a little reading knowledge of French or German and a post to those who have none. In my opinion the Orals should either be abolished or made sufficiently difficult so that the original purpose--that of requiring every Harvard man to have a truly adequate reading knowledge of either French or German--is thoroughly carried out.  GEORGE R. WALKER '18.