More Shaw

(Ed. Note--The Crimson does not necessarily endores 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:

It is unfortunate that in a recent article intended to deplore the lack of literary taste in Harvard yearlings, an officious CRIMSON reporter should have himself furnished so many examples of literary discernment on the part of the Freshmen.

But let us consult the statistics he gathered from this table. The reason for the unpopularity of the cheaper magazines over the more expensive publications is only too apparent. We find our critic's conclusions amazing in the extreme. That they are surely false is proved by the popularity of periodicals like the "New Yorker," "Stage," and "Vanity Fair." Especially to be commended is the Freshman's preference of the "Yale Records" to the "Harvard Lampoon." We might also commend their pertinacity in resisting the wiles of the coy cowboy, who presumptiously attempts to arbitrate on their literary selection--a task hardly suitable to a constant purveyor of "Collier's Weekly," "World Almanac" and "Bunk."

A visit to the Union Library will convince one, not only that its reputation as the "best gentleman's library" is fully deserved, but also that it is used to great advantage by the class of 1936. A librarian reports an average attendance of over 10 per cent of the class. A list of the most popular books includes workes of Morley, Lippmann, Cabell, Barrie, Coward, Wharton, and Virginia Woolf. A marked predilection for Shaw, both his established plays and his latest tale frequently leaving the shelves. Appreciation of the poetry of Millay, Wylie, Pound, and Eliot is hardly indicative of a dormant interest in literature. W. Robin Taylor '36.   Francis J. Whitfield '36.