PLAYING WITH FIRE

The practical joker is a man to be endured only so long as he keeps within the bounds of decency. He may be cordially disliked all this time, but that is as far as his punishment can go. There is a line, however, which this joker may not cross and remain the same harmless though tiresome person. Once he has traversed this Rubicon, he subjects himself to punitive treatment.

There are certain individuals about the University who may be practical jokers or who may have malice and craft in their makeup. We like to think the former, but not knowing who they are, it is hard to tell. One example of this "joking" is explained by the letter from the Harvard Illustrated printed below. The fraudulent use of this magazine's stationery is a criminal act. The perpetrators of this scheme had better think again before continuing their practice. Another similar instance is the receipt by the CRIMSON of two communications with the signed names of University students who had not written them or who knew nothing of their contents. The law calls such an act forgery, which is not a pretty vice, even among much excused undergraduates.

These acts may be the rushing in of fools who wish to test their bravery in a war-time year, or they may be the work of innocent, fun-loving youths. In the future they should be treated and dealt with just as they are--within the province of crime.