Captain Beecher, of the Yale eleven, used the following words in his speech at the Yale alumni dinner on Friday last :

"I have played with Yale two years and Princeton has stolen the championship away from us both years. I have trained our team this year with the idea that we have got to fight the referee as well as Princeton. I hope our team will stamp our opponents in the mud to-morrow."

Such language as this, uttered at a public dinner, leads one to consider whether the conservative element who declare that the moral effect of football is harmful have not, after all, solid ground for their assertions. The further fact that none of the alumni present arose to object to the language used by Captain Beecher as being unseemly and as evincing a deplorable spirit, might well lend further weitht to the arguments against the game. By their silence all the members of Yale present at that dinner signalled their assent to these bullying and indecorous words.

We think we are not saying too much if we declare that, at a dinner of Harvard alumni, any assertion by the captain of our football eleven that showed an intention "to fight the referee" as well as our opponents, would have placed an effective damper on the applause that would greet the end of his speech. More than this, severe and outspoken censure would be freely bestowed on him. Harvard means to fight its battles openly and squarely, and not to court success by bullying justice into closing an eye to foul play.

The sooner our opponents recognize that this is the only manly and honorable way for men who have moral aspirations besides their muscular power to meet in the field, the happier will be the result for a game which we all value so highly.

We are glad to see that the suggestions made through the CRIMSON in regard to the freshman eleven, have been so promptly and generously followed out. Yesterday afternoon the junior eleven played a practice game with the freshmen, and, although beaten, managed to give them some good points. To-day the sophomore eleven is to play '91, and as many fo the team played against the freshmen last year, they ought to give '91 some very good practice. We trust that '88 will find time to play once before the game of Saturday. If '91 wins at New Haven the victory will be more than a freshman victory it will be a victory for Harvard. The record of the team is a good one, and it deserves support. We are sure that the class is grateful to the upper-classmen for their interest and help. The good wishes of the whole college will go with the freshmen eleven to New Haven, and we trust that the efforts of the upper-classmen may bear good fruit.