3 Rival Chairmen Charge Leverett Broke Agreement

Adams, Dunster, and Kirkland social committee chairmen last night charged Leverett and interhouse chairman Otto F. Grote '53 with violating an agreement made last spring that tickets for all Saturday night House dances be interchangeable.

Frank H. Finch '53, Chairman of the Kirkland Social Affairs Committee, called Grote's refusal to merge dances "in poor taste and a direct slap at the Interhouse Committee...."

At the same time, the three chairmen reasserted that they made "absolutely no agreement" whereby they should have notified Grote when reducing the price of ther merged dances from $3:60 to $2.80. The chairmen claimed that the price slash was "a matter of competition" and resulted from House members complaining $3.60 was too high.

"I think that Leverett House was acting in its own interests when it refused a month ago to merge dances; we were acting in our own interests Monday when we reduced the price of tickets," Ralph D. Robertson '53, Chairman of the Dunster Social Affairs Committee, explained.

No Price War

Joseph E. Connolly '54, Chairman of the Adams Entertainment Committee, denied the slashing was a price war. "This is a punitive measure to reduce Leverett's anticipated crowd and hence discourage other Houses in the future from holding dances on their own," he said.

Explaining his alleged reneging on last spring's agreement, Grote said he considered that plan temporary and "that it was necessary at the time to have agreement, since Eliot and Lowell refused to cooperate." He reconsidered his stand this fall "in the face of House sentiment and because I believe in free competition."

Robertson countered that merging dances "is the only way to prevent overcrowding in any one House."

The four chairmen were unanimous in calling for a revamping of the Interhouse Committee's procedure. "If we had an effective Interhouse Committee, this disagreement would not have happened," Grote admitted.