EDITORS HARVARD HERALD: The extraordinary document signed by Harvard graduates, which appeared in this morning's papers, cannot fail to excite considerable comment. To use the mildest terms possible under the circumstances, it cannot but seem utterly out of place and uncalled for to the majority of the students of the college. That such a document could have been written and signed on the 7th of July is easily understood, as at that time nothing had been said on Harvard's part to completely explain the difficulty. But after Harvard's part has been officially explained, and that, too, to the complete satisfaction of any reasonable man who is not prejudiced by college feeling, it was in very bad taste for any one who carefully read the report of the meeting of the boat club to transmit such a document to Columbia.

We do not consider every one who signed the document as responsible for it, but suppose that many signed it in July, when they did not understand the state of affairs, who would not have done so in October after it had all been explained. It was probably forwarded in haste by a few of the signers, who did not consult the others but took it for granted that their sentiments were the same as when it was signed and before Harvard had been heard from.

We think it incumbent upon the signers to explain their reasons now, as they did not take the trouble to attend the meeting and explain them there. It is ridiculous to suppose that the explanation of the Harvard crew would so easily have satisfied the entire meeting of the club, composed as it was largely of men who had come there fearing that the crew were in the wrong and Columbia in the right, unless that explanation were perfectly clear and reasonable, as it undoubtedly was.

PH.CAMBRIDGE, Oct. 13, 1882.