PETTY TYRANNY

Since working one's way through college is not a dishonorable occupation, the degrading restrictions put upon student waiters at the Harvard Union are quite unnecessary. There is no need to continue autocratic discipline past the point where such discipline is required for efficiency.

Few men would complain of the difficulty of their work were it not for the humiliating treatment to which they are subjected. Student waiters must not talk to each other at any time after roll-call, whether in kitchen or dining-room. They must never address a word of ordinary conversation to an acquaintance whom they see in the dining-hall, and even a wary glance of recognition is frowned upon. They must stand at strict attention whenever not actually engaged in serving or carrying off dishes. Any departure from the set regulations brings sharp rebuke from the waitress "captains"--grim females who roam the floor constantly searching for any sign of relaxation or happiness, and pounce with undisguised delight upon offenders. At breakfast the waiters often stand for thirty minutes without stirring, while a dread silence fills the dining-room and the captains prowl vigilantly, hopeful of detecting an unnatural movement or some strangled whisper.

The present system of petty tyranny and espionage takes heavy tell of the Union service. If there was any practical reason to forbid amiable discourse or natural relaxation among student waiters when not busy at their tables, the unkindness of such prohibition could be overlooked. But in this respect the management methods of the Union are several generations behind the times; most successful employers have found that it pays to treat their help like human beings.