THE PRESIDENT'S REPORT.

In the hope that no small number of our subscribers will welcome the opportunity to read the whole of the President's report for 1910-11, we publish it entire as a supplement to this morning's CRIMSON. We believe that anyone interested in what the present administration has done in the past year, or may attempt to do in the future, will find therein an excellent synopsis of advancement during 1910-11 as well as the foreshadowing of one or two changes to come. Aside from a report of progress along lines already laid down, we notice four points well worthy of comment.

In the first place, the fact that "out of the five hundred and nineteen who entered College in September, 1910, only two hundred and one had shown an ability to read either French or German by Christmas of the next year" seems to us very remarkable. Almost 50 per cent. have failed. That these oral examinations easily penetrate, so to speak, the weak points in the Freshman academic armor, is all too evident. This deplorable record is the best proof of the wisdom in the provision of such tests. And that seems to be little doubt that, now that this noticeable deficiency either in the preparatory school training or in the elementary Modern Language courses has been detected, the proper remedy can and will be applied.

In the second place, we read with much interest President Lowell's words concerning examinations. That a policy of general tests provided not so much to examine the student's knowledge of some particular branch of a subject, as to determine his grasp of that subject as a whole, has been adopted to some extent in the Medical School and is under consideration in the Divinity School, leads us to believe that here may be some means of escape from what the President himself terms "defective methods." Might it not be possible with the development of the "elective-group" system to have examinations for each group alone? Certain other subdivisions would probably have to be made. But any concentration of the present one-examination-for-every-course system would, as the President implies, make separate courses not an end (as they are generally now considered) but a means to a more worthy end.

In the third place, we were impressed with the needs of the University in a financial way. The most pressing of all is a new library, and until that is obtained, it seems to us out of the question to attempt "campaigns"or "booms" for other equipment. Nobody appreciates more than ourselves the absurdity of Harvard's mediaeval gymnasium. But until an adequate library and sanitary laboratories for chemical students are obtained, we must be content with the excellent outdoor athletic facilities we now possess.

Lastly, and most important of all, we are glad to see the President's unmistakable attitude on Harvard as a public institution, and its indebtedness to the country. The more any of us can do to dispel the utterly unfounded argument that Harvard is a "rich man's College" and "exclusive," the better it will be for Harvard and for those whom the University wants to reach. Harvard is under almost as great an obligation to the public as is the state college. And not until the public realizes an interest in Harvard's welfare, will the University have reached its greatest efficiency as a dispenser of true learning