THE CRIMSON AND PUBLIC OPINION.

Apropos of the CRIMSON'S editorials about Mr. Maxim's gifts, its campaign against military camps, and other matters, the criticism has been made, verbally and through out-spoken "letters to the editor," that the CRIMSON is misrepresenting the opinions of the University to the general public. The CRIMSON'S stand against military camps, for example, has been branded as a wilful attempt to disseminate a false impression.

The CRIMSON would indeed be flattered if its utterances were taken as the last word from Harvard. The CRIMSON does not make, and has never made, the slightest pretense that this is the case.

It would be impossible to mirror public opinion in the University in an editorial column. A clearly defined public opinion does not exist, in the first place. That there are two sides to every question is an axiom too often lost sight of. No one supposes that because the CRIMSON says summer military camps or other more subtle forms of militaristic propaganda are bad, the whole University-to a man-solemnly echoes, "Yes, they are bad, very bad!"

The CRIMSON board is composed of a number of Harvard students who have worked hard and earnestly enough to fulfil certain competition requirements, the most important of which is a thorough familiarity with University affairs. Its editorials represent the opinions of those Harvard men. It claims the right to try to be constructive and to disagree with the opinions of other members of the University. Its communication column is always open for the honest expression of other men's opinions.

The CRIMSON realizes that it is a semipublic institution and owes certain duties to the University. It does not believe that it has been unfaithful to those duties, nor gone beyond its rights to the slightest extent.