MORE BABY ON THE KING

Deploring, polling, and circulating petitions have been the immemorial prerogatives of the collegiate journalist. To damn with faint praise a now more fashionable than to deplore; to poll has become both cumbrous and prosaic; but to sent out a petition, preferably one raising some great and starting issue, can still be relied upon to achieve the sweet thrill of fame. And so the Brown Herald, oppressed by the taedium vitae, thought it might be a good thing to count heads on one of our more perplexing problems. Accordingly the Brown student body, and all owners of college printing presses, were asked to unite against "bearing arms except in case of invasion." Expectantly the bread was cast upon the waters, journalists gratifying rose to the occasion, and the world was made aware of the conscientious struggle of the Herald against the forces of militarism.

Vast issues these were; unfortunately, vast enough to goad the Rhode Island State Legislature into the game. Sniffing that old devil communism, the vigilants empowered their speaker to appoint the time honored investigating committee. With the old Brown facility for going one better, a grieved alumnus beseeched the Federal District Attorney to do his bit as Torquemada also. But the Herald, nothing daunted, rejoined in brave tones that theirs was "the higher patriotism."

The martyrdom of the Brown Daily Herald will reach front pages. That eventuality was as predictable as it was desired by the Herald's business department; for naturally enough, the legislative committee will find Brown staid as usual, will discover the Herald innocuous and its stand carefully circumscribed. But the whole affair is a singularly unfortunate commentary on the status of American undergraduate opinion in the councils of the mature judgment. It is eminently bad taste to couch a private albeit a worthy sentiment in the form of a public petition. It is deplorable that the American undergraduate press, as the sole method of expressing undergraduate opinion to the public, should have so abused its position that intelligent citizens justly regard its forays into fields beyond its usual ken as brainstorms, commercial in purpose, irresponsible in execution, and insignificant in results.