The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-01-30
sUrnEME ooDnr CAUTIONS rALIz
Discrimination in the Price OF ITS Dormitory
Rooms the Cause.

New HAVEN. Jan. 28.-Something OF a SEN
sation has been occasioned at Yale because
the Supreme Court OF Connecticut. speaking
through Judge Hammersley. has seen III TO
caution the university upon the threatened loss
OF its democratic spirit. Tit warning occurs
in the decision handed down by the Supreme
Court in the celebrated tax case OF the town OF
New Haven against the university. One oil the
contentious of the town was that the dormi-
tories OF Yale were utilized simply Tor TRADE
purposes. and that their original purpose oil
extending equal opportunities TO rich and poor
students had been entirely lost sight Of. This.
III, Supreme Court says in effect, Is true.
THE argument urged by the defendant
says Judge Hammersley, in support OF us
claim that the dormitories assessed are prac-
tically used for the purpose OF trade is sub
stantially this: the college Is Intended prt-
marily for scholars who are poor. and the
great majority OF foundations express this
purpose more or less clearly; no one shall be
prevented 10y Limitation of birth or means from
the full development OF his capacity for the
service OF the State an essential feature Of tho
college is equality; no special privileges or
honors can be secured except through ror-
sonal worth. When. therefore. in the apportion-
ment. the students are practically divided on the
right and left hand. according to the marks OF
wealth. and. as the finding shows. the poor
student Ia relegated to the unsightly discom-
fort represented by rs cents n week. and the
rich student promoted to the comparative
luxury represented by SO a week, a rule Of APP
portionment is adopted which violates the es-
sential conditions OF college lie"
Upon this contention the Judge makes the
following significant comment: There would
be force in this argument. so far IA it Ia sup
ported by facts. II addressed to the college au-
thorities. We do not care to minimize its force
for that purpose. 1t goes without saying that
the most costly gifts cannot compensate forany
loss of that spirit OF Independent equality which
Is the life OF the university and which has here
tofore especially characterized this plaintiff"
This is. certainly a rehuke of the present
policy of Yale. so far as its dormitorics are con
cerned. from n high source, and is SO taken by
the officials Of The institution. II only brings
which. has been directed against Yale, espo-
cIolly Py her Gwynn alnmnnii EYER since the cree.
f ins to- %5 thhnd sniver sei!' at oi the sr eommsnc cement
season have expressed establishment al the
iiTnr agfe b prices CHI CHARGED Snd by BY the mni wi,b Shi TOR
undergraduate who paid 81 q week for his
man either OF unbounded resources or OF
nnbonnded extrayagance; There were only =
for that sum the majority. ranged anywhere
from % cents TO 81 500 week; With the sub.
ornate, dormltories Of the quadrangle. however:
there has come q change. In ten years the
average price Of the college, rooms has jumped
from 81 to 50 a week, and the highest price
from So to so. Whether this change has been
accompanied by any loss Of that democratic
so respected is a point that is vigorously dis
cussed. There are those who assert that the
presence ore o, of of d al the rich III. men o" ., one }Hs
poor on another cannot, %conduce to 4
1 RapoS H,Ts at t nd oniv and Vanderbilt and and
by the returning alumni. for the high rates AZ
which the rooms are rented. but for the mate
rth In y ~ rio IN ThnAn old 1Nn1 tnE
who were accustomed to getting up on early
winter mornings, and cracking the Ice in their
shake their heads at the porcelain bathtubs.
the onyx freplaces and the carved oak vain
pew, tells a story of meeting such an outraged
graduate on the campus one day. who was vio-
ieGntly exp99stnlating agaip.st these bathtHbs.
What kind Of bathtnbs did YOU have?'
,,e mmShs s d : IT h @Ith any. , sir; and q w we We're ,bg a great
two an in f son ! Mi fSH%T and HP d 'ns n hn! S0 S : GGo1ls are
hardly A., for human habitation. are damp and
dtinGy and a constant menace to the health Of
Contrast SoTt t Sa'T to the eighteen '2l% roo S3se sixfeen 3' Of
which are in Vanderbilt Hall, that find ready
tenants at SO a week, and in this contrast
meet the extremes OF undergraduate poverty
and undergraduate wealth. The, rest Of the
$50 rooms range all the way between these
the larger NUM- Der are nearer the SO limit. In
Vanderbilt Hall there are two rooms that rent
for 50. twelve for $3.50. sin for 50 and sixteen
for $40. In Pierson lin which the rooms are
s sKsnt IS e an!f for r" sS. 5iFf fou swf foT Sc rent eis !3F fo 5r} 81
and eight for I In Welch and White the prices
dergraduate. The lowest rates are naturally
found in the Old Brick Row and in Berkeley. In
the latter. ten rooms. very eYcellent rooms. too.
50. two for S3.45. two for 81. and four for So 80.
1t is interesting to drduce from these figures
the income which the university receives from
its dormitories. II is noticeable that. in spite
Of the high-priced rooms of. Vanderbilt Hall.
e eoS laTe% to I tho money S%Ss G i%Vesfed. is The Yssy w s%asi
income amounts to S5lG. or. lguring forty
estimate. cost $sOO.O00. this would give an
income of about 2f per cent. without deduct
mitory was q gitEi Of course me university
is a different story with the buildings erected
at its own expense. Pierson Hall. built about
ease in po:nt. and. considered purely as a bust.
Ny FniiSTnp 4 4 Ii nS6mI esst4i R @6S of THE the Sos1 Of
from, Il is S274 per week. or $ii 200 per year:
y other words. the university has invested its
rooms in Pierson Hall. which. In itself. is a very
On the other hand, Berkeley Hall, which is
an extension ofWhite Hall, and was built about
protest against the high-priced rooms was so
strong. and was intended to silence IN a meas
ure those protests. yields about 4 per cent. The
rooms were offered at n low price In order that
the poor students who were crowded out of Van
dcrbilt Hall might have some place to go. This
act, in itself. has been vigorously criticised us "A
deliberate intention Of the authorities to sepa-
rate the rich mud the poor men. or, at least on
the, ground thar its action has had that result.
The rebuke administered by SO important Il
tribunal as the Supreme Court of Connecticut
has again stirred IN the slumbering opposition
TO this state of affairs. The Yale Hmm
Wrekiu. whose opinion in Yale matters carries
great weight, heartily Endorses the reprimand
Of the Supreme Court.
We are bound to admit" says the WeekID.
that the warming was in order. Reinforced
by this high authority, we cannot but ]reiterate
Ia palmer languag" han we may have yet used
that the general policy of The corporation, ia
the treatment OF its dormitorles. has been in
consistent with the spirit Of the place. with The
common. II not the unanimpus. desire OF those
who have furnished these dPrnitories. and.
though clearly within the law. as the FLU
preme Court has said. is without and against
the higher law OF this place. 1t has threatened
the best asset Of Yale, and, proceeding ON a
purely commercial basis, has finally reached
the point whore il has also threatened most
seriously those visible and material assets OF