The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1907-11-08

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mendous amount OF what may be cal
led,s because of no better name, ami
NAL: energy in our youth. 1 might
say that our children are born with
TT. They play harder, they must do
greater stunts" and they do more
than the average child of other par
ents..~ ...- -@-~,
This has been readily seen and &C.
knowledged in great cities where our
American children, American born
boys, in comparison with the foreign
born, who flock to our shores.
q Within our school and even with
In our homes we know that when a
boy has reached the age of fourteen
he is too strenuous from the physical
side. Almost all the mischief which
lis -tperpetrated by our youngsters
both in the home and in the school
is the direct result of this demand
l!of their, animal nature for an outlet.
Well organized sport gives the out
let for this energy and develops more
strongly the two fundamental quail
ties about which spoke at the be-
ginning.
Football has become an ameri-
can Institution 1t did not happen.
1t was the direct result of nature
that must find expression in over
coming obstacles and where brain
must assist Drawn. For it is we'll
known that a foot ball player must
have brain and mucle, without these
he makes a failure in this sport and
never succeeds in it.
Some writers, searching for the
sensational, have claimed that this
game was brutal. If properly organ
lied and properly controlled the bru-
tally in the boy is, eradicated and
finds expression in honest endeavor
to overcome seemingly impossible diff
ficulties by menas of his brain and
his muscle, Well organized, this
sport gives the natural outlet for the
animal. nature in our youth. r.
1t is a we'll known maxim when
conditions exist that3are detrimental
I'VE must seek an outliet'or an open
ing by which these conditions may
be turned into benefit. Rowdiness
on the football field is the result of
players for the sake of
temporary victory rather, than the
result Of training boys. in this master
full sport. e ti' rsa
= Teachers and trainers who seek
nothing but victory and have used
men who have. more mature, who
have more of the brutal instinct, have
entirely surpassed the mark. and have
failed, to, gain what, ought to have
been gained by the training.
= 1t is as necessary In life to suffer
defeat well as to bear victory proud
ly. In fact the former requires more
of effort and brings greater results, !
as far as training is concerned, to
the individual .4,...
The. American people as a whole
acknowledge cleanliness in base ball
yet statistics show that there is al
greater mortality in in base ball than
in foot ball. So common is the sport
that the papers report, only those
games which are sensational or have
some dfreful result. If we could
gather the statistics of base ball, find
the number who have died from con-
sumtion contracted while waiting on
the bench, the number of fractured
skulls, the number who have been
spiked we would find an array
that would put the dangers of foot
ball out of sight and scare the most
timid mother.
!, Pride of achievement, the honor
which boy gains, the physical
force and skill, all make for better
and nobler school spirit. The girl
who admires one who is able to pro-
tect her will find in the hero of the
football, game her idol. The
spirited action from commencement
to finish tells upon the spirit of the
school and the pride of schoolboy
association. Boys who can play foot
ball with, science and skill, are not
billiards and will succeed in the
class room subjects. Those who have
been selected for football alone nat
urally fail to reach classroom aver
age. No wise teacher will tolerate
for a minute the so-called Ringer"
The best that can be said of other
sports in comparison to this is, that
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