The discontinuance of the year's official dining hall service is a prospicient and liberal decision. Remembering that Harvard's primary aim is to make its students perfect physical specimens, the University has taken this further step to insure their good health. By closing the dining halls the University also will save that fraction of their sugar ration hitherto allotted to the undergraduates. The principal motive, however, is not patriotic, but rather the fulfillment of the all-out Make-the-Students-Healthy program. In order to forestall the pending epidemic of ptomaine poisoning, the officials at Lehman Hall have ordered that the remaining supply of chicken pies, family style, be thrown into the Charles. While such a policy may render the University liable to the charge of wilfully polluting a stream, nevertheless, the authorities are willing to run this risk for the students' welfare.

With disturbing rumors of illness growing more and more numerous in the past several weeks, action become imperative. As always, however, the final decision was only reached after much mature deliberation. All possible alternatives were considered. Reluctantly Lehman Hall representatives realized that their Make-the-Food-Palatable policy was not only no longer adequate but actually conflicted with the Make-the-Students-Healthy program. The French dictionary was consulted once more, but no new words were found that could describe the food. Consomme, bouillon, puree, mongol, gumbo and other mumbo jumbo had been exhausted in trying to label the soup. And hamburger, whether Parisienne or Brooklynese, they had to admit was simply hamburger. With one final heroic effort, "Okra" was tacked onto the chicken gumbo in the last Sunday dinner, and than the dining halls were quickly closed.

Occasionally the bottom was scraped off the pan in making pan gravy or a few toadstools were put into the Bordelaise sauce by mistake, but these accidents never detracted appreciably from the tastiness of the food. This week when many men have to pay as much as 90 cents for thick juicy steaks in Boston, they will wistfully contemplate the delicious meals they could get at Harvard for the same price. But the interests of health come first at Harvard. Besides, especially during examinations, it is an excellent idea to close the dining halls so that undergraduates can spend much of their abundant spare time in finding places to cat. Realizing the wisdom of this action, the students will no doubt cooperate cheerfully.