Night Watchman Finds All Quiet During Lonely Hours

Except for an occasional greeting which he extends to the African ape as he patrols the halls of the University Museum, Andrew Collins, one of the College's night watchmen, doesn't find much excitement in the way of burglaries, riots, or fires during the midnight hours.

Although Collins, who has been with his present job only five months, has guarded many of the College's ivy-clad buildings on the night shift, he has never had to call out the Yard cops or turn in a fire alarm. Rowdy students just don't seem to cross his path and fifth column agents apparently aren't interested in the University's research laboratories.

"One job's pretty much the same as another when you're out at around 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning," Collins explains. "It doesn't make much difference whether you're keeping an eye on the court rooms of the Law School or watching the goldfish at the Biology laboratory."

On some of his early shifts students often have to check in with him when they spend an evening studying in one of the research buildings. "It's interesting to talk with College students and get their ideas on the war and post-war problems," Collins says.

Collins, who has plenty of time to think during the lonely night hours, could take on even the most violent of arm-chair politicians. "Labor as well as business together for the good of everybody, and tough as it seems, the war may be the only thing which will make the people realize this. If big business goes about their work with the idea of making as much money as they can, there's bound to be trouble. But the fault is not entirely theirs. Labor has got to understand that problems of production. They haven't any right to ask for higher wages when the government is putting a ceiling on the things they are producing."

Even though Collins has only worked for the University a year, he has been impressed by the increasingly liberal views of the students.

Asked what he thought about the possibility of the Army's taking over the College, Collins said, "In spite of the importance of college education, the time has come for everybody to do all they can towards winning the war. It's too bad to have to take you young fellows out of college before you've hardly had a chance to get started, but the war comes first and there may be time for college afterwards."