Last week, while engaged in an editorial campaign against the American Legion, the Yale News branched off to assert with dogmatic pessimism that American politics are "just too dirty" and so corrupt that all self-respecting college men refuse to consider them as a worthy occupation. The editorial voices perfectly the feeling of hazy helplessness which overcomes the average undergraduate upon viewing with superficial haste the maze of American government as a possible occupation.

There can be little argument that American governments are sadly riddled with corruption; that fact, and the tedious apprenticeship and small remuneration have militated against the entrance of college men into politics. Nearly every organ of opinion has tended to emphasize these more repugnant facts without pointing out that any future betterment must depend entirely on the energies of honest, capable men. Those, therefore who are eminently fitted through training, ability, and character to elevate politics from their rut are discouraged at every turn. There is little honor due the person who cries over spilt milk while holding in his own hands the only effective mop.