COMPULSION FOR THE UNION.

The action of the Student Council in appointing a committee to investigate the ever-present problem of the Union should produce results. The Union cannot continue indefinitely with yearly financial losses nor can it accomplish its full purpose without the support of more undergraduates. From the Union's point of view, compulsory membership would place the finances upon a sound footing and the Union could go ahead with improvements and schemes to make it more attractive and useful for its members.

The question of compulsion however, goes deeper than the question of finances. The Union is not an essential to our system of education, though it is a convenience the loss of which would greatly handicap the holding of mass meetings, class dinners and smokers, and other large gatherings. But these are things that spring from voluntary class organizations, and should be conducted on a voluntary basis. It must be remembered, too, that the tuition fee, which has recently been raised from $154 to $200, has reached a point when the addition of five or ten dollars would be seriously noticed by many men, especially those who at best make little use of the Union.

Even if the opposition is small, no plan should be adopted that men might consider an imposition until all other means have been tried. If the Union really does not interest men enough to pay for its running expenses, it is questionable whether it is justifiable to run it by compulsory payments. But the trouble today is that too many men use the Union who do not pay for it.--More stringent enforcement of the membership rules should be put in force. There are also ways of arousing interest which have not been fully tried. The recent boxing tournament was an innovation that if continued should do much to stimulate interest. From the agitation for a swimming pool, the plan to build it in the Union is at present the most promising means of securing new members. All proposals should be considered to provide this and other attractions before a final discussion is reached upon the plan of compulsory membership.