The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-05-10

x
There were other severe things he
said against football He spoke Of the
direful influence Of ''vulgar and pro-
fame trainers; of the infamous
crowd of camp followers hanging about
the team; Of the encouragement f9ITSs ne Of
does not show his conn., he continued,
he is twitted as unpatriotic and dis
loyal coward. And what Of the dis
graceful orgies that lave at times fol
lowed the breaking Of trainingS The
tendency of all these things is toward
the level of the prize ring and the
racetrack. |
y: Samples Of Graft. :: |
And how many, are there who
would work some gratis One wishes
to take tickets in order that he may
be taken to the Wisconsin game; an
other wants pair of shoes and gets
his order on the management. on some
! downtown firm for a. pair OF football
shoes and comes away with patent
feathers; third is appointed to sell
$50 tickets. sells 80, puts the rest in
cigarstore and makes hundred;
while the manager improves each shin
ing hour, and out Of the $4,000 gate
receipts diverts enough so that he must
leave college in disgrace, reaps a gol-
den harvest and an aftermath OF dis
honor, but is not entirely unhappy.
| the guiding motive Of action is. the
familiar question, What is there in it
for me?'' ii t<4-
Professor Webster spoke in commen-s
dation of the reforms inaugurated by
the Big Nine conference and said, ."We,
are proud Of the part our representative
took in that conference He con-
tended, however, that the past has
conclusively demonstrated that stu
i dents are not capable of conducting
their affairs honestly and honorably,''
;. and that, "until gentleman 8 honor is
esteemed more highly than gamester' g
knavery, the game will not be saved
from it's dangerous tendencies.' :
: ,-=.s. H. Roast for Frats. ..a.. ~.
; Professor Webster spoke strongly
against the present methods Of opera
ton Of the fraternities. IA.
"One other influence that I believe, -
=, he said, els silently working toward
: lower scholarship is fraternities. In the
beginning these societies had scholarly
E ideals; their special pride was to win
= recognition in literature and oratory;
they encouraged every endeavor toward
' wide knowledge and true culture. To
t day, with but few exceptions, the ideals
: Of fraternities are social; the real end
il to have good time. The member
ship is not made up Of persons primarily
scholars. The vital question about any
= if he has scholarship, too, he is the
4 more eligible. But If in addition te
n these requirements he wears q, dress suit
5 to dinner, owns a four-cylinder auto
l. and smokes with careless grace, he be
81 comes desirable.
Work Is Unpopular.
q aNot only do they not encourage
u scholarship, but on the other hand the.
trouble to learn his lessons, with being
dig and grind. !, !. It is mot to b
81 wondered at that not one fraternit,
Ii man was elected to membership in Phi
"a Beta Kappa or Sigma Psi, the two hon
81 orary societies Of the university More
81 over, of the forty eight dropped at tn
b end Of the first semester for failure i
IS at least 60 per cent Of their work, a
@ least half were fraternity people. Ho,
& many more than half, is impossible t
tell, for the instructor who made the ii
information. One should not be su!
81 prised at this finding, for at the openin
Of school the business Of many is /
@ rush candidates; and any desirabl
z person is lifted entirely off his feet b
~ the whirl in which he finds himself
neither the rusher nor the rushee hs
any time to study, if he has the vii
: Fail to Graduate.
stAnother indication of the low stan,
ards of scholarship is the fact that mol
society members fail to complete tt
course than Others. From the unive
sity calendar I found that from 1887
;. 1902 there were 1867 freshmen in tt
- college Of science, literature and art
4 and in the same years there were 1,81
seniors or about SO per cent graduate
Taking six Of the best-known societie
!. four mems and two ladies ;, I find tn,
E out Of 357 freshment. ther were Ii
r that graduated, or 81 per cent. TIL
means that man s chances of gradu
!, tion are diminished 25 per cent if
joins fraternity.
Professor Webster spoke Of the ban
~ s - e : i