The wisdom of some quasi-philosophic counsellors of ambitious youth expresses itself in the aphorism that in this world there are as many doors labelled “pull” as there are labelled “push.” Without admitting the equality in ratio of the two kinds of avenues to material well being, it is undeniable that a great many of our social relationships are very commonly exploited by interests of a more or less directly personal character. Church membership, for example, may be maintained chiefly as a stepping stone to business, professional, or social success. Business men are overrun with solicitations for aid to church and charitable purposes under circumstances which suggest the discrete advertisement of their delinquency in case they do not contribute “according to their means,” and the probable loss of custom in consequence. The charitable organisations themselves are imposed upon by unworthy applicants for relief who display a pertinacity and ingenuity calculated to destroy all faith in any trait of human nature except universal parasitism. Of course one should not look a gift horse in the mouth, but in the case of many presentations from inferiors to superiors or from favour-seekers to men of influence the motives of the givers, and also at times of the recipients, are certainly not beyond suspicion. The ethics of the petty tipping system are dubious at best. Labourers “soldier on their jobs”; clerks appropriate office supplies as “perquisites”; there are “tricks in all trades.” To avoid conflicts in the kitchen good housewives frequently send bad servants away with excellent “characters.” During hard time winters newspapers maintain free soup stations and publish the harrowing details of the poverty which they are relieving in such a sensational fashion that even the most guileless reader finds himself wondering whether any motive connected with self-advertisement or circulation reinforces the charitable sentiments of the journalist. On the other hand many a queer and clever scheme is devised to secure newspaper notoriety for some presumably deserving person or cause. The ways of authors with critics, and of critics with authors for that matter, are said at times to stand in need of criticism themselves. “Dead easy” professors and “snap” courses (of which, be it said with grief and contrition, every institution seems to have a few samples) are exploited by college students whose mental efforts in other directions are hopelessly inhibited by chronic brain fag. In short every person charged with administrative duties in connection with any social organisation, be it a business house, a club, a church, a school, a charity, or what not, is familiar _ad nauseam_ with the fact that tacit or overt efforts are constantly being made both by outsiders and insiders to procure suspensions of the rules or other unwarranted privileges and favours.