EDITORS DAILY CRIMSON:- Much has been said recently about the lack of significance attaching to the various degrees given by the colleges of the country. It is claimed with a great deal of justice that these degrees offer no criterion by which the merits of the recipients can be judged. When we think, however, of the vast differences which prevail in standards and in methods, we must be convinced that it is impossible at present to lay down any common rule by which degrees are to be awarded. But it is very surprising to find sometimes that degrees of the same grade granted by the same college do not always mean the same thing. This is true of the degree A. M. given by Harvard. A graduate of the college may obtain this degree by pursuing for one year a course of study under proper direction. The amount of work required is generally the equivalent of four regular courses. Candidates have often done irregular and desultory work and yet obtained the degree. If, on the other hand, a graduate enters the Law School, he must apply himself very closely for three years, and at the end of the courses pass his examination with high credit in order to obtain this same degree of A. M. It is safe to say that the courses of any one year at the Law School are fully equal in the amount of work required to the total amount demanded of the post-graduate. It may be said that the law student is rewarded with his degree of LL. B., but that may be obtained by any student whether he is a graduate of a college or not. It seems to me that there is a radical inconsistency which should be corrected.