Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1895-11-18
Football as Played Today.

So far as the brutality OF football is
concerned there can no longer be two
sides to the question. The most uncom-
promising advocates of the game have
conceded this fact If one game of col
lege football differs from another it is
purely and simply in it's degree of bru-
tally. How disastrous and fatal were
these displays last year will be brought
carefully-computed figures is shown that
fOrty-six deaths resulted last year from
collegiate games of football within a
short period of four months. No record
has, of course, been kept of broken ears,
lost visions and other dis6gurements. AS
a matter of fact, there is no sport prac-
ticed by any civilized nation which can
equal record of fortysix deaths in four
months. = When we regard the
effects upon the players we meet a con-
dition of things equally serious. Leav~
ing the physical injuries entirely out of
the question, the game of football, as it
is played today, is an absolute detriment
to the mental development of those who
participate in it. have, during the past
six months, been at some pains to care
fully inquire into the class standings of
the men who comprise college football
teams, and the results were Interesting.
In two cases [ found that the majority
of the ball players stood amOng the low
est in their classes, while in the other
two instances this same fact was true
of one-half of the members of the teams.
Furthermore, the so-called
fame" which is bestowed upon these
college football players is directly inju-
portraits are printed, their every move
ment is chronicled until the subjects are
made to feel a prominence which is at
once prepOSterOus and absurd. Before a
boy is hardly out of his fitting school he
is spoiled with misplaced Importance
HI reya1E ~%r1x e. IL
evil effects of which he carries with him
through his life Nor is the eff
feet on other students wholesome one.
1t requires a StrOngly-Dalanced mind,
such as is rarely given to a growing boy,
Tor young man to pursue craving for
knowledge when all around him he hears
nothing but football talk and sees the
men next to hi1n become the talk of the
country. 1t strikes for him, at the very
outset of his career, false note.-Ed>
ward w. Box in Ladies' Home journal.
Warm Night Garments.
When the air is cold and the weather
inclement it is the general custom to
wear garments of extra thickness and
warmth, and to sit round roaring fires
But on going to bed, what takes place?
In 80 cases out of 100, people pass from
the warm living rooms into chilly bed
rooms. AS if the sudden change from ex-
IRENE heat-fOr there can be little doubt
that what with fires, gas and insufficient
ventilation people are in the habit of
breathing an atmosphere the tempera-
ture OF which is considerably higher
than it should hygienically be-to ex-
cessive cold is not sufficiently absurd.
they proceed to diyest themselves Of
their several warm garments, to garb
themselves in thin linen nightshirts, and
to consign their heated bodies to the
lnf1nQnOa of hot; "a
sheets! Conventionality has habituated
one to the custom; but really serious
contemplation of it cannot fail to make
the utter absurdity of the custom clearly
apparent.
The Chinese, from whom many useful
lessons have been learned by more civ
ilized nations, can give us wrinkle on
this subject. John Chinaman sleeps in
the same kind of clothes as he wears in
the daytime, the easy and flowing gar
ments to which he is addicted allowing
of this without causing Inconvenience.
Western nations are not favored in the
latter respect, but still it would be quite
possible to replace the airy nightshirt at
present in vogue by some garment
which, as regards warmth, was equiva
lent to the several distinct articles of
clothing constituting the working dress
worn by day. Dwellers in foreign coun-
tries invariably sleep in flannel garments,
and the DackWOOdSman wraps hlmSelf
in stout wooden blanket and defes the
elements. They are sensible. The hui
man frame should, undoubtedly, be
clothed in wooden garments. for wool is
a bad conductor Of heat. Enveloped in
flannel the body maintains normal tenn
perature, which is of the greatest i'm
portance. No sooner does the tempera-
ture fall than the action of the various
functions becomes impaired, the nerves
get out of gear. and the whole system
suffers anization.-Health.