New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-11-25
TON OF CHARACTER.

Yesterday morning, as gray-hared but
irreverent person saw the bright clear sky ana
blpathed the bracing air, he remarked " 1t
will be a fine day for institutions Of learning
No doubt there are thousands who share the
feeling that though football is a glorious game,
and although athletic sports in general are OF
great benefit TO the young. there Is neyerthe-
less danger that the interest time. and the
thoughts of college boys will be too much en-
crossed in the mere pleasures OF life. But the
vast assemblages which witnessed the contest
between Yale and Princeton yesterday, and
the earlier struggle between Yale and Harvard,
will be ready to admit that the sports which
develop such manly qualities in the young men
of our institutions, and inspire others to emu
late them must DO some good.
Perhaps the time has come when the world
really needs training of character quite As much
as it needs training of mind. In the dim
centuries which lie far behind us, the knights
with their dauntleSS courage. uninchIng de-
yotion, high sense of honor and splendid phySi-
cal training. did more to make history and
uplilt mankind and wOmankind than the book
worms Then the long swing of the pendulum
brought intellectual qualities to the front, the
49,
sword, and the world came to owe most Of its
advancement to the men of mind. Less was
thought of courage and endurance less Of
knghtly sense Of honor or devotion to com
mon cause. and far too little of the physical
culture which promotes health and vigor. Now
the pendulum swings the other way. Mental
| power is not moderated the intellectual tram
| inc of today is more severe and thorough than
It was when the colleges knew little or moth
| inc of athletic sports. But there is a trench
dous pressure brought 10 bear upon young men
in all the colleges and schools 10 develop i'll
themselves the physical powers, the habits and
the qualities of character, upon which useful
ness in life depends more tnal upon mcnta.
| equipment.
! The men Of gray hairs, who were college
| boys thirty or forty years ago, when the class
room and the debating society were every thing
| and the ball and boat were only just beginning
TO claim attention may be disposed to doubt
| whether the intellectual training in these day
is more thorough or complete than it was in
! their time But those who ha sons at work
! in the institutions Of learning now, and who
| follow their work with attention, realize that
| the bows go much further in the mastery Of
sciences and languages than their fathers did,
and for the same grade of scholarship require
a far more thorough training. The Yale grad
uate today may indeed be one Of those who
! know barely enough to squeeze through but
there were such graduates also forty years ago.
He who stands fairly we'll in any good nstitu-
ton to-day has a better mental cquipmcn; and
wider knowledge than were required for the
same standing in times gone by.
II is the experience OF all colleges that at
tcntion TO athletics does not nccc ,saIily lower
the standard OF scholarship or lessen the men
tai training. individual cases may be found
in most colleges, Of course, where play abSorb-
all thought and studies are neglected. But
there were many more failures in former year,
because Of play Of a very different seIt and
because Of habits which athletic riv9iry firmly
suppresscs The physical health the clear
head the regular and wnOlesoUc habits, the
strong desire for the respect Of others, which
the athcte quickly develops. help man power
student who struggles for scholarship rank
alone may be cmincntly selfish in his motives
lie who denies himself pleasures and comforts
cndWcs long u9:nlng, and faces not a litlt
risk every day, in his struggle to uphold the
honor of hI college or the class or his asSo-
ciates, MIST surely develop qualities that are
not altogether selfish, qualities that will make
him power in any occupation in life, qualities
which will help his country and mankind
Excess in athletic spots may we'll be dis
c)uagcd. But it is not without reason that
Thirty thousand Americans assemble to witness
the pluck the skill and endurance of tn,
college boys.