Morning journal and courier., 1893-11-24

THE WEEKLY JOURNAL
Is PUBLIsHED
EVERY THURSDAY MoRrISe.
THE FOOTBALL INSANITY.

THE FOOTBALL INSANITY.
Three hundred and fifty years sge Kins
James l., of England, did "debarre al
rough and violent exercise, as the football
meeter for tanning than making able the
users thereof" But football didn't stay
debsrred In England, and 1t apparently
hasn't decreased in violence much since
the time of King James l., for we read that
twenty-five football players have beer
killed in England so far this season, and
the list of those who have been seriously
hurt is long.
In this country, too, the record of death
and injury from this violent exercise" I,
an impressive one. But more impressive
than that Ia the mental craze that 10 on.
On Saturday there will be a contest
at Springfield that will overshadow
the tariff and the Hawaiian questions, and
next Thursday there will be one at New
York which will greatly interfere with the
proper thanking of the Lord for all his
benefits. These two contests are matters
of national interest, juet as much as and in
much the same way that the big bull fights
of Spain are. We are not of those who
see insuperable objections to football
fights, bull fights, prize fights, or even
dog fights. They are all much of piece,
and they encourage and crafty the re-
mains of the original man. But what does
seem to us decidedly out of character is the
fact that the principal 'institutions of
learning" in this country have taken to
breeding and supporting bands of trained
athletes who seem to themselves and
also to many others the most real,
important and necessary representatives
of their universities and colleges. 1t
doesn't strike us that such work is in keep
ing with the spirit of true learning. We
realize Its value as an advertisement, but
we look upon 1t as much the same kind of
advertisement as that employed by success
full business men of this city to sell their
Indian remedies with. These men employ
athletes, serobats, etc., for the money
there Is in 1t. The big schools encourage
their bands of athletes because they draw
patronage, and IL successful give dlstine-
ton. 1t is q curious and significant fact
that the university which is the most
successful in baseball. boating and foot
ball draws better from those who are
undecided where to get their educa-
tion than the one that is not. If Yale
kicks harder and dissbles more men this
week and next than Harvard does 1t will
tell in the applications for admission next
year. 1t would be the same If the contest
Yale and Harvard prizs fighters or be-
tween Yale and Harvard dogs. All of
which is extremely hattering and encour-
aging to those who are trying to hold up
the literary end.
The thing has gone 90 far. We don't
mean that those who are killed or hurt in
football are more foolIshly killed or hurt
than some others. That is not the most
important consideration. But 1t is dis
couraging and disgusting to see the foot
ball captains bigger men than the literary
captains, and to see the presidents of the
football associations bigger men than the
presidents of the universities. A distin-
guished man once defined insanity as loss
of the sense of proportion. There is
surely loss of the sense of proportion in
toward football.