INVESTIGATE BEFORE VOTING.

For the past few years the condition of the Harvard Union has been discussed publicly and privately at regular intervals. Finally, a special committee appointed by the Student Council has made a careful report on the practical utility and financial status of the Union, with the idea of arriving at a conclusive settlement of the problem.

The obvious argument that the Union fills an important place in the University has been further strengthened by the committee's report, which also advises that membership in the Union be made compulsory. Only by this measure can its financial condition be put on a firm basis. However, this is a change of such radical character, affecting every undergraduate, that it has been thought decidedly advisable to obtain the opinion of the college as a whole.

The vote which is to be taken on Wednesday and Thursday of this week will greatly influence the Board of Trustees in their final verdict about compulsory membership. An adverse decision will probably result, if a large favorable vote is not cast by the undergraduates. A few hundred votes will mean nothing, but should over half the college signify their approval or disapproval of compulsory membership, then the Board of Trustees must take into account such a representative opinion.

Many have grown so accustomed to hearing about the Union as a failure that the possibility of its being a financial success has never occurred to them. These men particularly should first look at the facts of the case, then discuss the question, and after coming to some definite conclusion, vote intelligently.