THE STATUS OF THE CHAPEL.

According to the current number of the Advocate, the sermons in Appleton are generally uninteresting, the exercises are dull and mechanical, and the student attendance is very small. In short, the services on Sunday mornings are "futile and almost useless."

Without maintaining that the Chapel is perfect in every respect or that the student attendance is as large as it should be (certainly, too few men go regularly on week-day mornings), we believe that the Advocate's indictment is more severe than the facts of the case warrant. For example, the attendance figures for last year show an average on Sunday morning of 171 students and 168 others; a total of 339. This year the average has been: students, 265; others, 290; a total of 555. Apparently, then, the Chapel is not a decaying institution as far as attendance goes; on the contrary, students are going in greater numbers than formerly. An attempt to estimate how creditable or otherwise is this showing of a voluntary attendance of 12 per cent. of the total College enrollment, must include a consideration of several other facts. In the first place, the number of men who are away from Cambridge over Sunday cannot be less than 25 per cent. of the total. Moreover, most Episcopalians and all Roman Catholics attend their own churches. Also, Dr. Crother's church has an average student attendance of 40. Finally, a considerable number of men attend Boston churches on Sunday mornings. Remembering these facts, the 12 per cent. attendance seems a creditable one.

Whether or not a sermon may be justly termed a "dull, uninteresting lecture" is more or less a matter of opinion. The CRIMSON'S opinion on this point differs radically from that expressed in the Advocate editorial. In few churches are poor sermons so rare and exceptional sermons so frequent as in Appleton Chapel. A reading of the Advocate editorial would lead one to believe that seldom are distinguished preachers brought to the Chapel. A glance at the list of men who have preached this year will show that there have been but few Sundays when the pulpit was not occupied by a man of national reputation.

In our opinion Appleton fills a very important place in College life a place, however, whose importance might be increased if more students appreciated the true value of the Chapel services.