"OFFICIAL INEFFECTIVES"

It has been said of Harvard that there are two clubs or societies for every student, and although this saying is not literally true, there are few interests of young men which are not covered by some organization. It is undeniably a good sign, and the best of it is that each organization has found its place and enough support to warrant its existence. Temporarily, the interest in one activity may dwindle until it is no longer a factor in College life, and it is just this condition which has caught our attention.

In glancing over the cases of this sort, which come readily to the mind of any upperclassman, it would seem that in four out of five cases the immediate cause for lack of interest in any organization or activity is the presence of lazy or inefficient officers, men who accepted positions the accompanying duties of which they never intended to fulfil faithfully or have subsequently shirked. It is very pleasant to be known as the president or secretary of this or that organization, but it is an honor which should be paid for, if not bought, by a certain amount of effective work. For anyone to receive office with bored indifference or with the knowledge that he has neither the time nor inclination to fulfil its duties, is too plain a mistake to need comment. And yet this sort of mistake is made many times each year. We refer especially to the smaller clubs and societies with no particular prestige to insure their continuance.

For obvious reasons we have been general in the statements we have made, but the past College year has not lacked concrete examples of "official ineffectives." If there were a scarcity of capable men willing to assume the management of our organizations--scientific, literary and political--inefficient officers would be more excusable. But we have the men. It is merely a question of readjusting our ideas to recognize the comparative values of personality and ability.