The paper's office moved around a good bit in those days (1304 Mass. Avenue in 1895, the Union basement in 1901, 14 Plympton St. in 1915), but wherever it went there was a Sanctum, a center of exuberance and conviviality. As FDR put it in his report for an early CRIMSON catalog, "There was much fear expressed that the new quarters (the Union) would take away the esprit de corps which had grown up in the old Sanctum, and also that no punch nights could be held in the Union. Both fears have proved to be groundless."

The paper's social aspect has always been so important that the early constitution set aside $100 for "a spring party" and up to $70 for the Sanctum punches. Though no longer provided for in the constitution, parties and dances still rock the building at 14 Plympton.

From the beginning the paper carried on a lively rivalry with the Lampoon which was solidified in the form of a baseball game at the turn of the century.

Through the years the game has evolved into one of the most unusual contests in American sporting annals: one team, headed by its president, lines up in a row at home plate while the other publication, with its president in the pitcher's box, takes the field. The pitcher tosses an empty beer can to his rival executive who swats it with a hunk of wood. At this signal the team at bat races in a wild circuit of the base path while the members of the "fielding" team attempt to tackle and/or trip them. As soon as 23 men have crossed home plate the inning is over and the other publication is "at bat." After all this both squads retire to claim a 23 to 2 victory. In the last two years the 'Poon-Crime weekend has been solemnized by a legitimate crew-race, which the funnymen, using paid athletes, have won both times.

But even in the early days good times were secondary to a good paper. In the '90's appeared for the first time sports extras on the streets minutes after a game's finish and a house rule establishing a $2 fine for editors who failed on assignments.

Bitter Rivalry

Competition arose to test this sense of purpose; in 1984 the "Daily News" was founded. After a bitter rivalry the newcomer folded in 1895 and loyal Crimeds from miles around flocked to the Sanctum to celebrate under the hastily-constructed banner, "No News is Good News."

In 1901 the Lampoon took advantage of the CRIMSON's notoriously prosperous financial condition to issue the first local parody. Aided by a traitorous Crimed, the 'Poon put out a spurious issue announcing, among other things, that all subscribers could receive a $1 refund by calling at the paper's office. The stunt left a good deal of hardfeeling.

Another memorable year was 1907. After a long debate the paper decided not to incorporate; instead it instituted a three-man supervisory Graduate Committee, and it paid out a dividend before the staff left College in June--something it never did before or since.

In a reminiscent mood the 1909 president once wrote, "We certainly made no great attempts to please our readers. . .The paper was indispensable because of its notices, but I don't believe it was generally read, except by the editors. . . .But when the occasion demanded we turned out a really creditable sheet. . .Of course, there was more of the right sort of conviviality in those pre-Volstead days than there could be late."

He sounded a familiar note when he noted that "the candidates did most of the news-gathering, and their period of servitude was too long gruelling." The competitions are still tough, but now they are constitutionally limited to less than 10 weeks. But another hazard has been added, for since 1937 editors have been competing in the fall of their junior year for posts on the eight-man executive board. On today's paper, where the financial incentive has been eliminated, competitions make the wheels go round.

By 1911 the paper had shook itself somewhat out of the rut decried by the 1909 president. Action pictures replaced illustrations and the typographical format was livened up.

But if the editors were satisfied with their product, they were not happy about their environment; by 1914, there was more than a little agitation for a private CRIMSON building; Undergraduate interest and graduate financing combined on the project, and in 1915 the nomadic newsmen finally settled down at their 14 Plympton St. headquarters never to unsettle again.

New Home

On November 20, 1915, the first college paper to own its building published its first issue from the new home, a 44-page Yale edition and the first rotagravure section ever included in a university daily. The varsity contributed to the joyousness of the propitious day by walloping the Elis, 41 to 0, that afternoon; ironically enough, Harvard's 41 to point was scored by a regular member of the squad.