The CRIMSON has in former years had occasion to protest against exaggerated estimates of students expenses at Harvard. After careful correction by individual students, by the college papers, by President Eliot's annual report, and especially by Professor Palmer's thorough investigation and summary, it would seem as though the false accounts of the cost of living here ought to have been refuted forever. Notwithstanding this, the New York World, in its issue of April 6, published a long letter proclaiming that Harvard "Is a college for rich men's sons only," and misrepresenting the facts of college life from the beginning to the end of its three and a half columns. The letter purports to be written by a graduate. Certainly it was not written by any one who was connected with the college; and Harvard men may hope that no one who ever was connected with the college has proved so disloyal as to invent the libels contained in the article. The writer is so evidently behind the times, and his spiteful motive is so thinly disguised, that it would hardly be worth while to reply to him if he had not manipulated the figures from the catalogue in such a way as easily to mislead the casual reader. What his letter is worth as intelligent criticism may be shown by his glaring mistakes in saying: "C. J. was and still is the Register of the Faculty;" the Everett "Athenaeum is the rival of the Institute. it flourishes and attracts many of the men;" and other equally evident blunders.

The correspondent of the World says that "the charge quoted in the catalogue for board is wholly misleading and inaccurate." On the contrary it is not as low as many men are now living at. The Foxcroft Club, with a membership of over one hundred, supplies meals at an average price of $2.50 a week. Some men are boarding at less than $2.00, while few are spending more than $3.00. For thirty-eight weeks the average expenses of these men would be only $95.00, while the minimum would fall below $76.00. At Memorial Hall the price of board has averaged within a few cents of $4.00 a week all through this year and last year. The figures given in the catalogue, $152 00, are therefore correct. It is absurd to say that the price of board "really runs much higher" than $4 25 a week.

The next misstatements to be noticed are that "the furniture estimate is absurd on the face of it," and that "the most glaring inconsistency in the official announcement as set forth in the above table lies in the item of expense for rooms." The explanation of the low figures lies in the fact the that most of the rooms in the college yard are occupied by two men-a fact which the World's correspondent has entirely neglected to mention. It is not necessary to quote price-lists of rooms and furniture to show that a reasonable number of men can be accommodated in the college buildings at an average price of $22.00 for rooms and $1000 for furniture annually. Those who fail to draw cheap college rooms can find out side lodgings at $2.00 a week without difficulty.

It is needless to point out that any earnest student can obtain $600 or $800 during his course from the scholarships, almost none of which are "tied up with special provisions" beyond the single limitation that they shall be awarded to meritorious undergraduates, and many of which have no provisions at all. Besides the $29,000 given out annually in scholarships by the college, about $16,000 is assigned from the beneficiary funds.

There are other false statements in the letter besides the few mentioned here; but these are sufficient to show on what basis the writer was working to show that Harvard is "very expensive." The correction of these errors is enough, without the new facts which could be adduced, to show that far from Harvard's being "a college for rich men's sons only" it is the only college to which poor men can afford to go.