To the Editor of the CRIMSON:

In passing criticism upon certain practices of a great institution like Harvard it is expedient for me to exercise great precaution. The resentment to any criticism will not come from the institution itself, for it can well bear criticism, but to accept unqualifiedly the name of Harvard as the magic rock that need only to be touched to bring forth all the essentials for a complete life.

I ask now in what manner is Harvard looking after the medical needs of her students. Do all Harvard men receive proper medical attention? Is it possible that in her ambition for intellectual supremacy Harvard has forgotten the physical side of her students? Is the Stillman Infirmary merely a sanctuary for the weary, or has it a superior function? Is the medical advisory department conducted on modern principles, or is it a traditional heirloom? The virtue in medical advice does not rest essentially in its ability to suggest a way to a cure, as in its ability to ward off disease. Does the medical advice received at Harvard perform either of these?

No one will deny that pillars of antiquity in the fabric of certain human institutions preserve for them a certain charm and dignity. However, where such pillars are substituted for scientific pillars capable of shouldering the increased load with less strain, grave danger is unnecessarily involved. It cannot possibly be that Harvard has extended the rule of the survival of the fittest in its fullest sense. This is impossible, for it is opposed to reason.

Is it a fair game for the student whose home is removed, perhaps by thousands of miles from the field of action? How much better equipped for the struggle is the contestant who when the becomes physically incapacitated can climb a street car and reach his home within a few minutes! Not only does the contestant laboring under unfavorable conditions needlessly suffer from physical disabilities resulting from lack of proper medical care, but must in addition sacrifice valuable time which he should devote to his studies. Has not the time come that the obsolete medical system be supplanted by more modern equipment in sufficient quantity as to make it available for all? S. S. SCHIERS

February 28, 1923.