A CUP FOR SCHOLARS.

In commenting on the action of the Graduate Board of the University chapter of Phi Beta Kappa in establishing a trophy to be competed for by the preparatory schools of the country, with standing in the entrance examinations as the basis for awarding the trophy, the Philadelphia Public Ledger says, "The scheme displays a praiseworthy concern that scholarly merit should not hide its mute, inglorious light under a bushel; it remains to be seen whether it is able to develop even a respectable rivalry with the natural interest boys and young men feel in competitive physical exercise. The hero in school or college life today is the captain of the eleven, the nine, the crew. Sometimes it happens that the athlete is a scholar, too--in that case, the kingdoms of the academic world are under his feet, and he basks in the sunny favor of faculty circles and undergraduate esteem as well. The young student is hardly to be blamed if he yields to the human weakness of preferring the bays and the plaudits of the hippodrome to the fruits of pale, cloistered erudition. Perhaps his name on the side of a silver bowl or graved on the pediment of a Winged Victory will prove a sufficient incentive to the aspirant for the uppermost batting average in scholarship."

The CRIMSON is inclined to agree with the Ledger's view, which takes into account the curious psychology that puts the strong arm in a higher place than the well developed brain. Under precent though not necessarily normal conditions, the Phi Beta Kapa trophy may serve as an incentive to increased effort in the field of studies, but it is not apt to reduce materially the importance many sub-Freshmen attach to athletic ability and achievements. The idea of such a trophy, is, nevertheless, a good one, and the competition for it and its final award will be watched with interest.