The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-11-27
Athletics
and Health.

rs athletics as now carried on con-
ducive To health?" is a question asked
by medical authority, and some curl.
osity is evinced as TO what point OF
barbarity IL will attain ere publios
sentiment revolts against it's methods
lhere Is an ever growing tendencY}
among sensible and thoughtful men t3
deplore the manner i'm which our mod A
ern sports and games are conductedl
The spirit of emulation is an excellentl
quality, but even that may be carried
too FAR, and when, as not infrequentlyf
happens, limbs are broken and fatafS
casualties occur in what are supposed
to be friendly football games between
boys at school or university IL is tim9s
that the situation should be reviewed
dispassonately. AS with the mode of
playing football. so it is with the methSy
DDS ruling the conduct of modern athx
letes generally. The system is not onlyS
not beneficial, but 1t is prejudicial td9
health. "A
In the journals of England a heatedy
discussion Is now being waged with rev
gard to this much vexed question. Letss
ters are being written and opnions,i
aired by all sorts and conditions OF I
men, and from these it would appeari
that the conclusions arrived at are un<7
favorable to the view of the healthful{v
ness of modern athletic training. "a
The British Medical Journal has taks{
en- up the subject and saysi 1--WE quite3
admit that many athletes are extraort!
dinarily healthy fellows, but that doeSd
not touch the question. None but stron&'j
and healthy men are likely to enter ortf
or, at any rate. TO persevere in athieti0S
pursuits. and the question really is notH
DO some OF them remain healthy?' but%
DO they remain as healthy when they3
devote themselves to one object of deSH
veloping muscle as they, the same peoes
pie. would IL they led an ordinary outjs
door life. eating ordinary food and taksy
ing a reasonable amount of exerciseI
without any attempt at interfering witlfS
their weight or increasing their mus-f
cles" The key to the answer lies in
the fact that health depends on the in~-l
tegrity of the digestive and assimlatl
tive organs and that perfection of mus~
Gle is quite a secondary consideration.
. Notwithstanding the array OF
vigorous and hearty middle aged and
even elderly men who have survived theil
ordeal. we cannot shut our eyes to the
fact that the record breaking which is
now the aim of every self respecting
athlete is productive Of such an amount
of strain, especially to the vascular sys-
tenn, as when oft repeated must do
harm. The athlete is often healthy. but
is so i'm spite of rather than by virtue
of his athleticism.'
These are true words and apply
probably even more directly to Ameri-
can athletes and TO the American sys-
tenn Of training than to athletes of Eng
land who follow the system in vogue
there. The course of training at univer>
sites in this country Is much more se-
we're than in England. However. there
is small room for doubt that in both
countries athletics, and more particus
larly among amateurs. Is carried to exc
cess. OF course IL a man is a profes$
sional and gains d livelihood by the exc
ercise OF his thews and sinews he
must expect to run some risks, but with
those who hope in after life TO work az
a profession or trade II is foolish in the
extreme TO mortgage their future by int
juring their health when at school OF
college. "a