All Harvard must be both surprised and grieved to hear that for some as yet unexplained reason the petition of the boat club to employ Mr. Bancroft as a coach was refused. We consider this to be a great blow to the boating interests of Harvard and particularly unfortunate just now when we seem to be almost at our wits' end. For weeks the CRIMSON has remained silent on this subject being unwilling to announce any rumors, but we have patiently waited until the time should come when the welcome news that the petition had been granted could be published as a fact, for we felt almost absolutely sure that this last great effort of our graduates would not be dismissed. But now that we find that the petition is refused we can only wonder what reason seemed forcible enough to make the athletic committee willing to bear the harsh criticism from graduates all over the country which this action will be sure to call out. A college race on the water is no longer merely a struggle between undergraduates, but since our opponents persist in learning how to row from an experienced graduate, we must do our best to meet them on equal terms, and until we do, the Harvard crew can never win. Our graduates have recognized this fact, and have done their best to make it possible for Harvard to meet Yale on equal grounds. Why the committee has seen fit not to take advantage of this chance, which Harvard oarsmen have been so long eager to get, is a question to which the undergraduates demand an answer,