It would seem after our experience with fires in the college dormitories this year that it was about time to remedy some of the existing defects in our means for extinguishing fires. It hardly seems necessary to wait for another blaze before taking the needed steps. The great trouble in case of fires in the college buildings (spectators of the Matthews holocaust must have noticed it) is the absence of a hydrant in the yard and the consequent necessity of extending a line of hose from the engine stationed a block or more away from the scene of the conflagration. As things now are, the firemen have to run the hose around corners of buildings and through the entries to take a short cut to the fire. Harvard Square becomes the repository of a mass snaky house, which blocks cars and brings this great business centre of the metropolis to a standstill.

It is absolutely necessary, not only for the efficiency of the fire department but for the lives of the students that at least one hydrant should be placed in the yard from which an engine can throw a stream into any building in the quadrangle.

From personal experience, the editors of the CRIMSON would respectfully inform the Board of Overseers that the fire-escapes recently put into the rooms do not afford such absolute immunity from igneous danger that we can afford to dispense with the services of the Cambridge fire department.