The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-10-18
RULES ALL WRONG
Conway Mcmillan Calls College.
Amateur Code Bad in Theory
and Useless in Practice.
Professionals Still Numerous on Var
sity Athletic Teams-Petty Of
lenses Only Are Punished.

| Not only are the Western College con-
ference rules governing the amateur
standing Of college athletes wrong in prin-
ciple, but they absolutely fail of attain
| ing the desired results" declares Profess
sor Conway Mcmillan Of the University
of Minnesota, one Of the best known crit
les of football in the west.
"Our amateur rules" continued Pro-
fessor Mcmillan, ARE an outgrowth of the
English custom Of barring from amateur
sport man who engages in trade or man
ual labor. The Engllshman makes fetish
of the word gentleman. Part Of the code
of the British sportsman is that no man
who engages In trade, or who has ever
done manual labor, shall take part in anna
teur sports. These must be restricted to
gentlemen. So at Oxford and Cambridge
the athletes are men who fulfil this idea
of the gentleman. AS an Illustration OF
the English idea, no man who has worked
in a shop, or worked on a farm, can take
part in any Of the Hanley races.
"Hrvard and Yale have truckled to this
English idea. notwithstanding it is so for
eign to, the spirit Of our democratic insti-
tutions. and the west has followed meekly
after Harvard and Yale. So there has
arisen in our colleges the theory that 1t
Is a reproach for a man to make money
by engaging in athletics. This theory has
dictated the rules which govern the anna
Of the Big Nine" conference.
Theory Is Fundamentally Wrong.
"This theory, as I have said, is funda-
mentally wrong. There is no logical rea-
son why stigma should attach to a man
who has used his athletic skill for gain
quote from the rules Of the conference.
There is no good reason why the admit
ted professional athlete should not be a
member of college athletic team, pro-
vided he Is a bona fide student Suppose
boy can pitch winning baseball, why
should he be barred from college athletics
because he chooses to earn little money
by it? money which, perhaps, he uses to
defray his callege expenses. I do not see
Whv Jeffries if he entered the University
Of Minnesota in good faith, with the prl-
mary idea Of securing an education, should
not play on our football team. 1 believe
| the only stipulation that should be MADE
with regard to members OF our athietlc
teams is that they should be bona f1de
students.
But, not content with barring the real
professional athlete, the western confer
| ence goes farther. It bars man VINO,
| like Mueller of Minnesota, participates IN
single athletic contest for which money
prize is offered. For that one act prom
Using athlete is barred forever from COL
| lege sports, and has the stigma OF pro-
| fessionalism' attached to his name. IN
der the conference rules, Larson, half
back of the last years Wisconsin foot
ball team was a professional. he once
| received a money 'prize for W1nn1ng4 q
bicycle race. The case was not pushed
because the offense was committed When
Larson was about IA years of age, and 1t
was considered outlawed. Yet technical
| w Larson was a professional and had any
of her opponents pushed the matter, WIS
consin could not with good grace nave
permitted Larson to play.
Professionals Not Kept Out.
."Those are some of the things the Con-
ference code does. Now consider the
things it does not do. 1t does bar the
man who has committed one act OF So
called professionalism" who has taken
trivial cash prize for schoolboy race
who has violated the letter but not the
spirit of the law. But it does not pre-
vent men from receiving pay for playing
football and baseball upon college teams
There is scarcely a western university
which has not now, or has not had within
| the last few years, men upon Its athletlt
| teams who were paid for; their services
! The athletic association knows nothing
| of these cases. The association does not
pay football players. But the players dt
receive pay from some source anc
the condition of this salary Is that they
play football. So far as keeping profess
sionalism out Of college sports is con.
cerned, the conference rules are a bowling
farce. The code sometimes Furnishes, by
barring the offender, such petty violations
Of the letter of the law as I have men.
toned it has never been known to- detec
or punish the fragrant violations Of botf
the spirit and the letter which occur every
year. - 2~ -
Now waving for the moment the Ques
ton Of the propriety Of the amateur the
DRY as applied to college sports, VIII!
should rules which manifestly fail Of thei
purpose be longer continued in force
The conference regulations are a shan
and a farce They are founded upor
principle Of ethics which Is radically
wrong, and the sooner they are RELOCATED
to Oblivion the better
The Real Remedy.
eff every college in the country agreed
to waive once and for all the question o
} professionalism in college sports. and tt
make good standing in classes the onI.
standard Of eligibility, r believe ever,
branch of athletics would be, kept mucl
cleaner and purer than it Is now. No
only do the present laws not prevent pro
; fessionalism, but they put a premium
upon deception. They promote lying AM
fraud among all connected with athletics
: Now suppose every college establishe,
athletic team unless he were up to tn
standard in all his studies. That woul,
insure the presence Of bona f1de student
: only upon athletic teams 1t would kee]
out the man who enters college for tn
sole purpose Of playing football: A mai
might be willing to play football for tw
or three months each fall for state,
) sum, but few would be willing to do fiv
! or six or eight hours work upon thei
studies as we'll, unless the Remuneration
, were very great. Such a ruling woul
r keep out the really undesirable element o
: professionals: -
'"The plan is now in force in the city higl
schools, and it is also in force at .Wiscon
, sin, where any player who is behind Il
l his studies is required to cease from par
7 ticipation in athletics until his class worl
l is made up to the sa tisfaction of the fac
} ulty. Until scholarship is made the stand
ard Of eligibility, clean sport will con
} tinue to be as much of pretense as |
4 has always BEEN ,.4,s s. .. .
Surprised at American Energy. ~
Norwegian engineers and working mer
, are astounded at the rapidity with which
the Edison company is erecting its grea
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