When Pound, Ames and Langdell became deans of the Harvard Law School, the action of the corporation received general and enthusiastic approval. The alumni of the school were especially pleased. They admired these men not only for their scholarly qualities, ideals, accomplishments and great promise, but for their sobriety of judgment, their ability to go along harmoniously with their associates, and perhaps most important of all, their apparent aptitude for administration.

The faith of the graduates was well founded. These three men, enlarging and improving the school, made it a more vital influence in the nation. It has become the foremost institution of the kind in the world, profoundly affecting the teaching and the concepts of the law in all English speaking countries.

The attitude of the alumni toward the newly appointed dean, James McCauley Landis, is not so warm as it was toward his predecessors. That is indicated by the recent letter of G. G. Zabriskie, a Harvard College and Harvard Law School graduate, in the Harvard Alumni Bulletin, and by the Bulletin's brief comment.

Conceding the brilliance of Mr. Landis, Mr. Zabriskie puts the question which others have asked. Has the new dean the "legal temperament" which a dean should have? In other words, did the corporation choose wisely? The Bulletin editorial asserts that Mr. Zabriskie's "explosion" has rendered audible or visible the ardent and angry spoken condemnation of other graduates.

Whether Mr. Landis has that combination of personal and professional non-scholarly and scholarly qualities which characterized his predecessors, only time can determine. The corporation has acted formally and probably will have no disposition to reconsider the matter. But it is quite fair to say that many alumni have been disturbed since the appointment of Dean Landis by his remarks on the sit-down strike and on the court-enlargement program of the President.

Whether the misgivings are justified or not, they certainly exist. They appear to be widespread. Obviously, Dean Landis will begin his duties in an environment far less friendly than that of Deans Langdell, Ames, Pound and Acting Dean Morgan. --The Boston Herald