Morning journal and courier., 1894-03-02
ATHLETICS AND HEALTH.

Mortality Among Yale Honor Men.
A writer from this city in the New York
Evening Post remarks as follows:
1.-THE recent death of Horace Fletcher
Walker, salutatorian of the class of 1889,
and sometime instructor in French at
Yale, forcibly attracts attention to the
great inrosds death has recently made In
the ranks of the scholastic hierarchy of
Yale-the Phi Beta Kappa graduates, so
distinguished because they were graduated
with mark for the four years of at least
79t per cent. The number of these gradu-
ates who have died lately, particularly
those of the last ten classes graduated. il
noticeably large. The mortality of vale
dictorisns and salutatorisns has been en-
pecially heavy; so frequent, indeed, of late
have come the reports of the demise of
these, that 1t Is getting to seem that to win
such high scholastic status is to plucky
cypress instead of laurel leaves.
The neurology of these graduates going
as far back as the class of 1882 is as ap.
pended:
Alfred B. Palmer, sal1tatorian of the
GLASS of 1892, died three months before his
class was graduated.
John Joughin Cox, of the class of 1891,
who was graduated ranking second in his
class, died last year. William N. Thatcher
of the same class, who was grad uated with
philosophical" rank, died one month after
graduation.
John Bennetto of the class of 1887, who
was graduated with ''philosophieal" rank,
died last year.
Washington Irving Hunt, salutatorisn of
the class of 1885, died last summer.
George Otis Fellowes of the same class died
in 1891.
Levi Olmstead Virgins, valedictorisn of
the class of 1885, died in 1891. Re,bsr
d. White, salutAtorian of the same class,
died during the fall of lsst year.
Charles E. Carr of the class of 1884, who
was graduated with high Grafton rank, died
in 1888.
Fred Williams Kellogg, salutatorian of
the class of 1888, died in 1888; Alfred
Cook LOOMS and Joseph M Lewis, both
of the same class, and both graduated with
high Grafton honors, died in 1884 and 1887
respectively. The late Professor Edward
T. Mclaughlin, Phi Beta Kappa man,
was died last summer, was of this class.
Barclay johnson, valediotorisn of the
class of 1882, died in 1885. Joseph E.
Whitney, sometimes instructor In E0glish
at Yale, who died in 1892, was of this
class.
Nor is the end of the list reached by this
citation. Not few wearers of Phi Beta
Kappa keys are to day searching for health
or have but just attained 1t after a long
suspension of work. A weak, physical
constitution in nearly every case Of those
who have died was responsible for their
taking off. The want Of vitality una ues-
tionsbly was aggravated by a neglect to
husband what they had. Absorbed in
their books, ambitious only for "stand"
when in college, little or no thought was
given to the necessity for phi sical culture.
It appreciated, Incidence begot by soda
tive habits indisposed to such activity, and
when really engaged in only partook Of the
nature Of some Hfeless exercise even then
but internationally observed
Such is the athletic life of the more
scholarly portion of Yale students. The
general belief that the whole body of stu-
dents are inordinateiy absorbed in athletics
for why these many victories If not-ls
mistake. Not few of the students are
as oblivious of the games played and those
engaged In playing them as their brawny
classmates are oblivious of the Greek roots
which the ''grinds" pursue. The percent
age of, students Engaged in active athletics
is small. The rest of the college world are
spectators, whose only exercise consists in
straining their lungs and threats on the
show day of the teams"