The sun., 1905-12-04
EOOTHiLL.
Hath Harvard q Devil. NauShiy "Knock'
Ing" Imp or Spirit?

|
Ing" Imp or Spirit"
TO THE EDITOR or TUE SuS Sir; The
article in the Hdrrdri Grdduoies' Md9hsnc
should not have been suppressed. " would
| have afforded to Harvard herself an eNhlbI-
| ton Of the "cvil spirit" with which she mas
| been possessed for the last twenty-five years
! or course, Harvard men ~ Il whole constitute
healthy organism. and they would doubt
less rcpudate the attack in question, Dnt u
| has always been strictly maintained by care
| ful observers at Princeton and P"nn~ylvahIa
that Harvard had real devil, and that h"r
erratc conduct at times must be explained
| by that obsrsson. This recent cbulltloh
has disclosed the head of the personality
| before II could be battered down by the sti'sI-
bio part Of the college community.
The fact IL that In he blood OF the Harvard
system there Ia the taint OF the "knocRer =
and it always has been there for the last
| twenty-five years. Why II ia there. or now
| 1t comes there IL IL not necessary TO inquire
| Whether II comes from the decay accompany
| Ing the loss of faith" at Harvard and the
death OF the old Puritan spirit, or from the m
| breeding Of the New England intellect ana 'he
| inability o recognize any superiority in Others
| Or Is Just spontaneous 'mugwnmperE, leI
| no man say, unless he Is prepared for long
| debate. But the fact that there Is the taiht
| of the "knocker" in Harvards blood is SUM-
| ciently attested by the evidence Of her own
suppressed graduate and the history of her
| connection with American football.
Not long after the Introduction OF Football
| into America and up to the year 1880, there
was an intercollegiate league. composed OF
Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Pennsylvania and
| Wesleyan. In the games under this league
| Princeton as we'll as Yale, consistently
thrashed Harvard. Indeed. Princeton seemed
| to find Harvard an easy mark. flhaily 'hls
| troubled the spirit OF Harvard deeply. u
| i ls.,t hat ri
ton, a Presbyterian high school. that stlli
made the boys study the Bible and attend
morning chapel should win from such large
universlty;. 1t was hnm!llating, and m rrihcedI tNd
ton wickedly reioced. ihereupoh thS Ds@
on The boards and announced to the college
| world that ii was beneath the dignity OF fiar-
ward to play with pTinceton and ba1xas tna, iSr.
| and make a dual league -lust Ike oAlpiu
aud Cambridge In the year .ssSm aSSn. oS T1fe tSe
| football game. when the score stood 10 TO III
! in favor Of Harvard the graduate represents "a
lltely but forbly Informed the princeton 1l
representative that we viii beat your COL
Fse E HSw ana w ssHsI made hin out
! "A liar in one part Of his statement by coming
out in The second half ana mah,na d rag gssfor sre
the whistle blew. The remainder of his state,
ment men was made good. Harvard never played
rF,RSsa%fh eSn%h'is Harvard had almost sednced
Yale, who was about TO consent t3 thr99w
over Princeton. But q he Jersey "ol'ege G ,Set S
! Yale's anything but knoCker spirit would
not consent TO retire before a Conauerlns zoe zoe.
dGsHId disbaHndns. football wa- lett to whatever
care the rrcspGnsbe d G9pmit,fe mt fe Prac'""y
There have been many, evils IN lo9,oaiii'
many reforms that should be SodM trSdRh'f6a t6s
| Dower of constituencies behind it. working
10 a common end so on sooner mar al, fir, W.
prestnt r.sR " commitfee tee Not nehcency in foot
bah knowledge or in sfsasGit%, sS r9Csrd sHt IN
CONSTITUENCY Who have taken UP the, game
| II The intcrcollegia league were still IN eN-
1%pG" b h+ ors%d"i@H Ttd r4oT%s T9. The attacks
upon the game coming from Harvard al the
present time are N som" lIsIbbieS sybiH vjoI nut
permit it to cooperate with its rivals, who
wer" not such great universities as she' pe, %
cause. ior-oolh, they ,waloped her rs he
direct cause Of the lack of any orgahtz4ti0h
adequate to correct those evils; Nov liar.
ward threatens 70 break with Yale aG,coIdIEng
devil" because nale,s ideals are lover roHn ohah
HaGyard's IF Harvard hredT 'n4t isso s6s sSof; e;
helping to dig her own grave, SO FAR as 81
premaCy is concerned. For. although she
sti,ilti1n, a true university IN European ideas.
and although, beside her apparatus pLI iQr edm,
cation the equipment OF 1die oi i'hS'.on
seems like a Joke, Yet, as institutions for
inkim4 healthy Young American BOYS or
Il or is and turning them ont as de-
cont rauabe effective men they have Har-
/ ward holding her sides TO keep up with
Them. Moreover. Harvard as an educa-
/ tlunal institution will have 10 make strenuous
/ rNertions to keep az the head OF American
universities. Rival institutions are rushins
along at an astonishing rate. Inc lheNoraple
ugrrsS of this country must show even 70
tambridEc that this country Is not Englend.
/ that tlItrr can bt no supremacy IKE lhhl
I of OXFORD and Cambridge III this country.
II is almost self-eNideUt fact TO the rest or
| this country that li9ryArd WIN nave 70 Keep
| i'm the procession with the rest OF he colleges;
! If she finds that fuCliiug with Yale Is not All
/ She rypeCted and proposes to fiock alone BY
| herself under the guidance Of her evil spirit
| hv kroc king then she Will have to welcome
! M I'M American student life. But IT. Is IN
credible that Harvard Will follow lts tNll guide
| II j. uconCeivable to think that the very
! raruv man at her head would hear of II ihe
! sudden freeze he gave Chanc"ll"r Mace racken
, was heart breaking but IT showed President
| Eitot', head was still there.
. When the real parties In interest come to-
gethcr they will vote Football must stay
/ "But how TO reform it," who WI give
/ forms are made 10y an authoritative
. bodv, possessing a strong constituency be-
( hind il the reforms will be nil. The path
I is very plain. Lel Harvard pull out this devil
! in her and let the same run down steep
| uiaCr sonpw here and lct Harvard ioin Yale,
/ iug n football lrague which can undertake.
! iLp reforms aud he responsive TO the intu-
! rucr of the whole football community,
NEW YoHK, Dec. ?. H. X.
Abusing the Umpire.