Nothing could be more asinine than a statement issued recently by School Committeeman Joseph Lee, Jr., who would strip Harvard of its leadership in American education because, he says, it no longer fits young men for the job of life. For one who is so tied up with education, his attitude is a bit unseemly.

Holder of a minor political office, Mr. Lee further states that Harvard has put education in a "straight-jacket," stultifying every effort of the schools to introduce courses designed to prepare students for the modern world. In this connection, he mentions Boston University and Boston College as doing a better job than their distinguished contemporary across the Charles.

To listen to Mr. Lee, one might think that Harvard shapes the curriculum and teaching methods in the grades and institutions of higher learning. This, of course, is not true. Harvard standards are sometimes too rigid for high school graduates to meet. To conform to these requirements, schools must retain the classics, the so-called "dead languages", and many other subjects which may not seem practical in the light of present day trends. Still the colleges are offering an almost unlimited amount of courses, of every kind and description, which, according to President Robert M. Hutchins, of the University of Chicago, is one of the chief faults of the American academic system. Maybe this has something to do with unemployment, an unfortunate condition Mr. Lee seems to blame on Harvard.

Contemptuously, the School Committeeman also said among other things, "If our sons do not go to Harvard, that's too bad. We shall educate them better ourselves."

Unmitigated nonsense! Even if he could better educate Boston youth, Harvard would still be an admirable ambition for every schoolboy. So is Boston University. Boston College, too. Each, in its own way, serves the lofty purpose of education--truth. Boston University "News."