The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-12-29
SCHURMAN LIKES IT
President of Cornell Has No Use for
Those Opposed to
Football.

Syracuse, n. Y. Dec. 2S.-President
Jacob Gould Schurman of Cornell uni
versity in an address before the associ-
ated academic principals OF the state Of
New York tonight, placed himself on
record as staunch friend of football,
declaring that the recent criticism of the
game. If not hysterical and frenZied, is
at least One-sided and unfair"
President Schurman urged that the
game should not be abolished. Modify
1t, he suggested, so as TO relieve the eX
ira hazards. but TO abolish it, he asserted,
would be TO do away with the most popu-
lar sport of the youth of the country and
OF the American people themselves. Pres
ident Schurmans theme was National
Greatness and he devoted considerable
attention to the physical basis of man
hood. In the physical training Of the
youth, DR.. Schurman declared, outdoor
sports take the place in this country of
the military service required in Ger
many.
And. speaking for the colleges and
universities" he said, 81 am sure they
have been an effective antidOte to eff
Terminate weakness. 10 low. vice and TO
foolish disorder and rOWdyism. How
ever strange it may sound to critics, it
Is nevertheless true that athletics have
made it possible to govern because ath-
letics have developed an esprit de cOrps)
hundreds, yes thousands of students in
a single university, year after year.
without the help Of jury, court or po-
hceman.
AM L lhen an advocate or tOOtDalif
What j have said ! have said and desire
not to alter. Baseball and football are
the best outdoor sports we have for the
American youth, and football Is the most
popular, not only among the youth but
among the American people themselves
IL is a rough game, but, taking account
of the large number Of people who play
accompanying them for example, with the
more luxurious motorist-the number of
serious accidents and of fatalities Is
small. The game is so stirring: il chal-
lenges so pOtenUiy the play impulse OF
young Americans; it appeals so strongly
TO the popular love Of vigorous compe-
ttion; il has In it so many elements Of
military discipline and moral training; il
affords such a VOluminOus vent for huge
masses Of superfluous feeling and energy
Ia players and spectators alike. which
would otherwise seek and find an outlet
in more dubious channels: there is / saw
so much 70 be adduced in favor OF the
game that the criticism which has of late
been heaped upon il will on impartial
consideration be found. If not frenzied
at least One-slded and unfair.
THE game is rough, but roughness Is
no bad ordeal and even the scriptures
enjoin as TO endure hardness The game
is attended with accidents; so Is every
game, so is every form OF human actiV-
ity and every form of idleness Is the
game unduly rough or unduly dangerous9
Then let as remove the extra hazards
by a modification of the rules. In my
judgment the two greatest objections to
football, as now played. are slugging' and
other intentional evasiOns of the rules
for the purpose Of weakening opponents
and the cOmmercialism which grows out
of gate receipts and the handling bv
young men of enormous sums of money
for athletic purposes"