To the Editor of the CRIMSON:

Upon perusing a room application blank for next year, I was gratified to see a new innovation. Each applicant is now asked his race, religion, and nationality. This is in accord with the best Harvard and American traditions, and the new forms are very much to be commended. Do you not think that we might make a further improvement by seeking more information? For instance, could not next year's blanks ascertain what club each man belonged to, his father's rating in Bradstreet's, and his complete certified pedigree? SEYMOUR B. QUEL '22   March 21, 1922.

Our communicant has evidently mistaken the purpose of these queries, so that to avoid further misunderstanding it might be well to explain. Every man on entering the Freshman class fills out more or less of a questionnaire which includes these questions under discussion. Men coming into classes other than the Freshman do not do so, so that the office has no means of checking up on them. Since facts on these subjects were desired, it was decided to put the questions on the application blanks, as this would be simpler than sending out specially printed cards to men who had never been Freshmen. It was further intended to include on the blanks a third question as to the school or college a man came from, but this was omitted by an error. The reason for the questions which our communicant finds fault is, according to the Bursar's Office, purely statistical--Ed.