The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-06-25

as high tribute as can De given 10 any
athlete" 1t would appear that the writel
had fallen victim to the universal tempta
ton always to add line more to comment
Some Comedians are inclined to think that
| 1t would have been a much prettier anG
more sincere sounding compliment had the
unfortunate second sentence never slipped
from the facile pen-or typewriter-oi
the paragraphist Of the Weekly.
An interesting word on athletic evils in
the colleges was said recently by DR.. Flavel
8. Luther Of Trinity College. 1t will be
remembered that Trinity recently returned
to Union College trophy won in a dual
meet between the two colleges because
one OF the members Of the Trinity team
was found by the Connecticut collegians
to have been ringer. DR.. Luther spoke
Of this event and commended the advisory
committee on athletics for having returned
the trophy. He said in addition There
Is no defense for the action Of any college
team that plays ringers or is otherwise
dishonest. No team guilty Of such things
can excuse itself by the plea Of grave need
OF athletes, by charging other institutions
with similar practises or in any way what
soever. The thing Is absolutely and funda-
mentally wro ng. We have done our best
to deserve forgiveness for the wrongdoing
Of our sinners, and believe that a healthier
college sentiment will prevent further evil
| Of this humiliating sort.
1The general thietic situation In the
college world Is at present far from salts
I factory in the largest sense. There are
certain basic rules OF common honesty
| as to which there can be no question. There
are other regulations which do not involve
| any moral principle, and are adopted as
supposed expedients for the best interest
| Of college sport.
-The question Of the pecuniary assistance
| Of college athletes by interested alumni is
| q difficult one. No college, in my belief,
| gives scholarships to athletes merely be-
| cause they are athletes. But it would be
wrong to withhold assistance from a good
! man merely because he can play ball. As
| to assistance given from the outside by
alumni, no doubt it is common enough,
taking the college world az whole, though
proof in specific instances is difficult. Who
shall saw what are the motives of the gem
erous alumni?
Il know a Trinity alumnus who has this
year assisted five deserving men to pay
their bills. Two of these are athletes.
Must they be Disqualified? And if an alum
nus pays the bills of a thoroughly COM
petent student. moved thereto by the desire
10 strengthen the team, it does indeed rails ;
the question whether the process is not
detrimental to the beneficiary. But ia the
case different from that in which rich
man educates poor boy for any other rea-
son? II there he given gate money or sub
scription money, which Is spent for the
personal pleasure and advantage of n col
lege athlete, that athlete Is professional.
Take away the source Of the absurdly
excessive incomes from the athletics OF
| our larger institutions and the abuses OF
| the athletic situation must stop. lake
away the smaller incomes OF the smaller
| college athletic associations and the simple
| love Of sport for sports sake will return.
| And the best remedy for the present ath-
| letic evils il not Cunningly-worded defini-
| tons OF professionalism but higher stand
| ard OF intellectual work relentlessly exacted
from all alike"
| DR.. Luther touches in this speech upon the
latest developments of the present phase
| OF athletic difficulty. The "cunningly
worded definitions of professionalism
may apply to the recent Yale Harvard
agreement regarding leniency to repentant
professionals and then again it may not.
Certain it is that recent disclosures, bring
ing freshly to public memory the corrupt
| side of athletics in the colleges, followed
by such speech as that of Dr. Luther. all
forecast great revolution and revulsion
OF feeling with regard to college athletics.
| II will soon become the case that the col
| lege presidents will realize that the great
| public Is suspicious of the college athlete
the universities best advertisement, and
will cease to patronize those Institutions
which have earned an unpleasant prominence
in the line OF interuniversity competition
Then it may be expected that halt will be
called. Whether or not there will be any
athletes left in certain colleges when the
great reformation Is accomplished viii moi
matter to the presidents, For few year.
| the athletic status may suffer, but the uni.
| versity will be the gamer in the end. That
| Is the opinion Of a man who il connected
with one of the larger New England insti
buttons, whose say so in athletics bears
with it the stamp Of authority.
The recent shift of Mike Murphy from
| Yale to Pennsylvania carries with it great
and enduring advantage for the Quakers
The personality of the veteran trainer
| Is such as will attract young men who are
eager to get an athletic training along
with their academic work and who have
the idea that Mike Murphy is the greatest
athletic trainer of the present time. 1t is
now known that several men who were con-
f1dently expected to reach Cornell will
enter the University of Pennsylvania next
fall simply because Murphy is there.
Murphy has always done great deal Of
missionary work, as it is called, anon
the schools and although while at Yale
he could not win these young men to the
New Haven institution, he has had better
success now that he is in the Pennsylvania
university. Among the men who will come I'M
der his care and training next year are three
or four freshmen who will almost tainly be
intercollegiate champions, and who certainly
should be individual point winners. Fore
most among them is Rsley the wonderful
athlete who jumped feet in tho high jump
and but an inch short Of % feet in the broad
Jump. He is from Mercersburg Academy,
which is coached by Johnny Mack, the for
mer Columbia trainer. Mack the story
runs, got his place at Mercersburg after he
left Columbia through the efforts Of Jack
! Moakey, Cornell's trainer. Since that time