Volleyed and Thundered

(Ed. Note--The Crimson does not necessarily endorse opinions expressed in printed communications. No attention will be paid to anonymous letters and only under special conditions, at the request of the writer will names be withheld.)

To the Editor of the CRIMSON:

On Feb. 17 there appeared in your column a letter which deplored the frequent riots in the subway trains and advocated swift and severe punishment as the only cure.

It was undoubtedly inspired by the recent arrest of several Harvard men on charges of disturbance, interference, disorderly conduct, etc.

It is a rule advisable, before one talks, to know what one is talking about. It is quite evident from the tone of the letter that the writer failed to inform himself concerning the present situation. The glaring tales unfolded in the various dailies would lead us to believe that there was a first class riot, that the property of the Elevated Company was devastated beyond repair, and that there was difficulty in arresting the supposedly guilty parties. Any eye witness will testify to the contrary--indeed, completely to the contrary. That the obnoxious rioting consisted in the untwisting of a few bulbs, that the arrested parties were seated at the time of their arrest, that the supposed "interference with an officer" was but a gentlemanly word-of-mouth remonstrance at what a bystander considered to be an unjust arrest--all this does not seem to have come to the ear of the indignant contributor. So he thunders, "Ecrasez l'infame!"

It grieves me to dilute the pleasure that must have been the contributor's upon seeing his diatribe exhibited in the CRIMSON. No doubt he feels that a step has been taken in the wiping out of a pestilence. Yet would I urge, gently, that in the future he rid himself of his surplus emotions, by, let us say, a run around the stadium. Such exercise uses up one's wind. John Morton Barnaby, II '32.