Now that Mr. Cook has given a positive and final answer to the question of his withdrawing his resignation of the captaincy of the nine, the question who is to lead Harvard's baseball affairs this spring becomes again an open one. We believe that this resignation will be looked upon with regret by the students, but the matter is done and the thing nearest at hand now is the choice of a successor. The peculiar circumstances which surround our baseball interests today, the fact of the inexperience on 'varsity teams of the players, make it absolutely essential that the best man possible be chosen to succeed Mr. Cook. As everybody realizes, the prospect for the baseball season is very blue and it will take the most vigorous, clearheaded leadership and the most willing, enthusiastic support to turn out a winning team. In choosing the new captain the best interests of our athletics demand consideration of a number of points which readily suggest themselves.

In the first place, this is absolutely no time for considering the length of a man's service of the nine, (except as that may have shown his fitness) or his class, or his society connections or anything of the sort; fitness and individual character and the ability to see clearly the conditions and to adapt himself to them, these and these only should have any weight. And fitness in this case means a clear head, a steady purpose and the quality of natural leadership. It does not imply the greatest actual ability as a baseball player any more than generalship in an army implies the best shot with a rifle or the greatest ability in sword practice. The man who can get the most work out of the nine with the least possible friction is the man whom we need. The nine this spring will not be an "aggregation of stars" as our teams have been called, and we cannot rely on brilliant individual work to bring us victory. This year if ever, the individual players must quit their individual aims and unify their efforts that the sum total shall be a strong nine. And that man ought to be chosen captain who is best qualified by his own personal characteristics to bring about this unity. Too much cannot be said to emphasize the importance of calm, unbiased action in connection with what looks like a crisis in our baseball career. All that the students ask is that in this present state of affairs the best man be clected captain; if the best man is elected he will not be troubled with lack of support; if any but the best man is elected it is pretty safe to predict a disastrous season.