The "true spirit of book collecting" should be a subject close to the hearts of Harvardians. It should be, for there is an annual prize of $950 for the "most understanding essay" by an undergraduate or GSAS student on that subject.

Laid year not a single entry was received for the competition for this award, the William Harris Arnold and Gertrude Weld Arnold Prize.

This indicates how little interest has been shown in the University's endowed prizes since the war ended. Ten awards were not given last year because no entry met the standards of the various judging committees. Most of the 32 others had fewer competitors than in the pre-wer era.

Today students are passing up even greater opportunities than the men of a few years ago, for unawarded money is turned back into the principle of the prize funds, and the awards increase.

Recently the second award of the undergraduate Bowdoin Prize was increased from $200 to $300.

University officials, unhappy about the lack of interest, attribute some of the apathy to the decline in the tutorial system. Before the war many men were influenced by their tutors to compete.

Tough Requirements

Some of the difficulty about the awards is caused by the requirements involved. The Arnold essay of close to 10,000 words on book collecting would seem quite difficult.

Another problem is that some prizes have long since become dated. The award of approximately $70 for the "best essay on the life, work, or interests of John Ruskin" attracted only two entrants last year. When the award was instituted over 20 years ago, that English author and critic was much more highly regarded than he is today.

On the whole the University makes no attempt to change the provisions of an established award.

In some cases entering a contest is not hard. The Bowdoin Prizes with $500 for first place calls for essays of not over 10,000 words on "any subject suitable for treatment in literary form." Students often hand in carbon copies of their honors theses for consideration.

List Prizes

Besides the Arnold and Rustin Prizes, the following are some of the awards which were not won last year:

The Francis Boott Prize of $100 for the writer of the best composition in "concerned vocal music."

The Circolo Italiano Prize of $25 for the best essay of from about 1500 to 4500 wards on a subject "in the general field of Italian culture."

The Susan Anthony Potter Prize for $75 for the best essay on "Spanish literature of the Golden Age."

And finally the David A. Wells Prize in Economics of $500 for the "best thesis embodying the results of original investigation."

In all, it appears that smart Harvard men missed over $1,750 in possible prizes last year.