The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-02-27
ATHLETIC sr.oRv.

The ausS=.s ~ the Seattle team In
winning the football championship OF
the No<hwest for the past yesr and the
good records made At the recent meet
Ing ot the Seattle Athletic Club are
practical evidence that the people Of
Seattle are as Vigorous physically as
mentaiy. and that physical development
holds the place among them 90 which
IL In entitled
A proper pride In the development
OF the physscai a. well as the intellec-
fuai qualities Of MAN II one OF the
marks Of q great nation. bat t1sis pride
Is eyinced rather by . cultivation OF
athletics for the honors to be won By
exciting in them than by a desire for
mere money prizes. The Oiympian
games OF the Greeks were distinctly
amateur sports, In which the contest
ants strove simply Tor wreaths OF bay
OF laurel and the plaudIts OF the multi
tude. On the other hand. during the
decline Of the Roman empire such ex-
hfhitions We're confined TO the bloody
conflicts of the giadiators. who were
mere slaves trained for the purpose
splendid animals. Ike the bulls trained
for the arena In Spain and Mexico, but
vino were despized by the people, who
themselves shrank from muscular ex-
erison as beneath the dignity OF free
men.
THIS contrast well illustrates the diff
ference between amateur and profess
stonai athletic sports: in a healthy con-
munity men indulge In athletics for the
love of the physical exercise and for
the pleasure OF excelIing. and the people
are proud OF them. In a decaying ma
ton such manly sports degenerate into
. mere profession and the athlete be-
comes muscular nonstrosity who ex-
cites the same kind OF wonderment AZ
a dime museum freak 1t is, therefore,
a cause OF qualification that amateur
athletics are so generally practiced and
SO popular in Seattle and the Pacific
Northwest generally.
There is no reason why the athletes
OF seattle and Washington should not
take place In the front rank among
the deyotees OF manly sport In the
United States. The mild, invlgorating
climate Is favorable to them. the for
ests and mountains offer temptation 10
the hunter. the Sound, rivers and lakes
to the angler. yachtsman. oarsnan and
swimmer. There Is not a better rowing
course in the weird than that offered
by Lake Washington, devoid of cur
rents. deep and normally calm: there
are few better yachting courses than
the sheltered waters OF the Sound: the
great swarrns OF ducks which yearly
migrate to the sloughs and deItas tribu
tary 10 this body OF water lure the hun
ter to endure hardship and exertion in
the excitement OF the chase: the wealth
hidden In the mountains tcmpts even
the most siothfui to climb their rugged
s'dcs In Its pursuit and then to linrer
as an admirer of their glories: he who
goes after big game can find II In the
recesses of the Cascades or the olym-
pics: he who INDUCES in the favorite
sport OF the gentle Izaak Walton can
ind Ii to his hearts content IN the
clear. cooi. rushing mountain streams
or the lakes embosomei among the
mountains.
The enjoyment OF such pleasures In
the long. bright days of our idea, sum-
mer develops a taste for muscular ex-
ertien in the men OF Puget sound which
seeks vent In the winter months In
Just such indoor meetings as that held
by the Seattle Athletic Club last Fri
day. IL was not display of brute
strength devoid of directing intellect.
Tor the nucleus Of the club consists of
over 100 young men who have grsdu-
ated from the great colleges OF America
ana who have let their physical and
intellectual development advance hand
In hand. They are men Of the right
stamp for the state TO look upon with
satisfaction as tho future leaders at the
bar. ia medicine. commerce, manufact-
urng and politics. May they have
many such meetings to contend for sa-
iFenacy in generous rivalry--not for
purses or stakes as do professionals.
but for badges OF honor.