Out of Town News to Refund Money For Papers Missed Over Christmas

The major distributor of newspapers at Harvard will offer a cash refund to subscribers who missed several deliveries the week of January 7 because of the change in the Harvard vacation schedule.

Out of Town Newspapers Inc., whose subsidiary, Harvard Campus News, handles on-campus delivery of The Boston Globe, The New York Times and The Harvard Crimson, did not deliver papers during the last week of the extended Christmas break.

The company also halted delivery of papers during the last five days for what would have been the intersession period under the old schedule.

Sheldon Cohen, manager of Out of Town News, said yesterday that every student would be compensated for the missed deliveries as soon as a suitable refund process could be arranged. "They (student subscribers) weren't cheated for that week," he said.

Cohen met last week with Archie C. Epps III, dean of students, who suggested that the refunds be handled through a local bank. Cohen said he was considering the proposal but had not reached a decision yet.

Cohen refused to say how large the refunds would be, commenting that he "would have to work it out with a pencil and paper." A first semester subscription to the daily Times cost $10.78 or about 14 cents per copy for 77 issues. Ten Sunday issues cost $7.50.

The Boston Globe delivered daily cost $6.39 or 8 cents a paper while ten Sunday Globes were $2.50. The Crimson costs $8 per semester for 90 issues or about 8 cents an issue.

Dean Rosovsky announced December 5 that because of the energy crisis Harvard would extend its Christmas vacation to include the week of January 7 and eliminate the five-day intersession period. During that first week of reading period under the old schedule subscribers would have received six daily papers and one Sunday issue.

Cohen said that he did not reschedule delivery service for the five days ending yesterday because he had already agreed to a vacation for the Harvard students who deliver the papers.

Cohen said that Out of Town will institute a new service starting today for handling delivery complaints. He has hired a student to work full-time on delivery problems ranging from lax delivery boys "to that paper that mysteriously disappears from the doorstep in the morning," he said