The following extract from a recent editorial in the New York Times will serve to show in what light our colleges are regarded as far as politics are concerned:-

"Professional base-ball players, professional rowers and professional athletes generally far surpass collegians in their specialties. Yet there are people who would rather see contests between collegians than professionals. The reason is that no taint of jockeying attaches to what the college boys do. There is every motive for extreme effort, and public opinion would discountenance every victory by a trick. This trait of disinterested honesty gives a special interest to expressions of political opinion by college men. Moreover, as they are alert in forming opinions, an idea of what the progresive intelligence of the country thinks on current topics can best be gathered, short of the verdict of the polls, by knowing what the students think. Thus, if this year's college statistics be compared with those of earlier years, it is obvious that there will be some clue as to whether there is any change in the political drift and in what direction.

"First as to candidates. At Harvard we are told 251 prefer Blaine and 413 Cleveland. So far as it goes this certainly tends to confirm the statesmanship of Mr. Blane's letter from Paris. Turning to Yale, we find there 70 Republicans and 13 Democrats. No expression of preferences for individuals has come to us from Yale. We may seek solace against this adverse "straw" in the fact that Cleveland was elected in 1884, although the vote of Yale was then also against him. It is also worth noting that the Democrats at Yale have recently made great gains. Since 1886 the Democrats have gained 92 per cent, increasing from 13 to 25, while the Republicans have increased more in numbers, but far less in proportion, or by only 37 per cent., from 70 to 96. If the boys think as their fathers do, the fathers are more numerously Democratic on Presidential issues than any one has yet found equally good reason for believing. At Harvard, in 1884, Cleveland had only 13 supporters and Blaine 123. Here again there is large growth for Blaine, overbalanced by a marvelous growth for Cleveland. Two hundred and fifty-one is a handsome increase over 123, but it is as nothing compared with the expansion of 13 into 413.

"In these college figures there is proof that the lines are drawn differently on partisan and economic issues, and that, as regards the tariff, the leaven of reform is doing good work. Thus, at Columbia, we find fifteen Republicans and fifteen protectionists. That this parity of numbers is merely a coincidence, however, appears from the fact that, although there were only eight Democrats represented in the vote referred to, there were twenty-one free traders, or six more than the total of Republicans. At Yale the protectionists fall 20 per cent below the Republicans, and the freetraders outnumber the Democrats in the proportion of forty-two to thirteen. This too, without counting eleven who shrink from the name of free traders, but avow themselves revenue reformers.