[We invite all men in the University to submit communications on subjects of timely interest. The CRIMSON is not, however, responsible for the sentiments expressed in such communications as may be printed.]

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

I should like to call attention to the possibility, under existing conditions of an appalling loss of life in case of fire in Sever Hall. There are no fire-escapes, and there is only one stairway leading to the ground floor. If a fire were to get started up this stairway during a recitation hour, several hundred men would probably be compelled to jump from the second or third story windows. The ladders of the College fire apparatus are quite inadequate for dealing with such large numbers.

Of course there is little probability of the occurrence of such a fire, but buildings always burn unexpectedly, and there is always some danger as long as there is light or heat in a building. Besides gas, there are electric lights in Sever, and the crossing of wires is apparently a common cause of fires. Furthermore, even officers of the University are in the habit of smoking not only in the hallways, but among papers and boxes in the washroom in the basement. At least there is some risk of what might prove a calamity, and there ought to be none when it might so easily be done away with. Small iron ladders similar to that leading from Upper Massachusetts would be of little cost and would not injure the appearance of the building. A. T. F.