The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-12-06
STRICT FOOTBALL RULES
MOVEMENT rs PLACE COLLEGE ATH-
LETIcs {, HIGHER PLANE.
President Fannee, of Brown, Says
Athletes lare Paid i'm Violation
of Spirit of Rules.

NEW YORK; Dec with the close
OF the football season comes the usual
discussion rega{iing the necessity of strict
er eligibility r1les governing the players
that represent lhe colleges on the gridiron.
II can be said lat the start that the need
OF stricter eligibility rules and unanimous
Interpretation IL the same may be admit
ted, but on tEfe other hand 1T should be
borne in mind that progress is being made
each season In; the right direction. There
were fewer casks OF players of questionable
standing this ys.ar than in several seasons.
The case OF Isullback Smith, OF PennsyI-
vania, was the! most marked, and even re-
garding him there were some grounds for
the belief tiay he was entitled TO play,
owing TO the Itculiar Interpretation of the
one-year resident rule. Among the minor
colleges thesei rules were not so closely
lived I'D 10, afd in several cases ordinary
regulations WIRE deliberately broken by
the football associations and captains in
their endeavOr: 10 secure a winning COM
bination- Further South the idea OF clean
sport seems e. be at best poorly under
stood One OF the most fragrant cases Of
importing players to represent a college in
a big game Gas that engineered by the
University Of West Virginia, when the
team appeared upon the field to play Wash
ington and jefferson, with Teas, the famous
Pennsylvania tuard, on the eleven, under
the name az Morgan. 1t Is seldom that
acts OF this KIND attempted outside of
athletic clubs land the attitude OF the cap
tain and ma Eager of the West Virginia
eleven. when She identity of Teas was es-
tablished, showed clearly that their ideas
OF purity in college sports were clouded
By the desire ito win Fortunately this is
not the collegiate OF popular idea, and If 1t
were the popularity of the collegiate foot
ball would sofa fall TO point where the
games would not pay the expenses of the
teams The lfpularfty OF all college sports
IS based upcfi the supposition that the
members of che teams are struggling to
win glory fot themselves and their alma
mater and art above suspicion as regards
their amateur standing. When this idea
is proved to te erroneous the great attend
ance at Intercollegiate contests will fall OFF
Tnder the circumstances, every move to
improve and: place beyond question the
amateur stansiing OF college athletes is a
step in the figin direction, and this is
what Is beiDs., dene4 But the movement
IS one OF VASE pre- portions and the progress
Is not as fase as Macy would desire, and
for this reasfn IL Is not unusual to hear
such disappointed persons say that purity
in college athletics is a dream OF idealsts
and will nevtsr be accomplished. That the
situation is fSlr from perfect, however, is
proved by a statemena made by President
Faunce, of Esown University. in which he
.Athletes ale frequeraly paid to-day, not
according to &he letter of the rule. but in
utter vfolatiof OF its spirit They are paid
for prepostersus service, in order that they
may be able 10 say with truth they are not
paid for PROFESSIONAL skill They may speak
the truth and yet evade the rules.
THE consequence OF ali this in institu-
lions whose chief aim Is character build
ing are serioss. Moral issues are confused
The student who plays summer ball finds
himself REGARDED as criminal, yet his con-
science does not respond to the accusation.
Whatever rDSes we have We must live up
10. Lax enforcement is not to be tolerated.
But either fhe moral sense of American
students must undergo a change-and all
our faculties are trying to change it-or
our rules must be made TO conform to our
conscience ! have no recommendation TO
make-that belongs to the committee In
charge Butts do not hesitate to say that
the evil Is far-reaching and the poorest
possible way TO treat it is to deny its ex-
istence."