The Washington herald., 1907-07-07

many colleges WhiCn Dy the nature ol
their geographical situation cannot have
rowing.
Baseball Is the national game. and there
is practically no college which does not
support a team. The SOLE exception which
suggests itself is Haverford, where
cricket is the spring sport Football is
practically the same. The sole exception
of Importance IN the East is Columbia.
This is, Of course. speaking Of the Amer
lean Rugby game Stanford and Cali
foruia, and the Pacific Coast. exist with
out football of the native variety.
There is no one particular institution
which is not represented In track athlet-
les. Even If the institution has not
a competing team, there are at least in
terclass meets. Track athletic sport has
the best hold on college men Of all the
sports.
Minor Sports Numerous.
These are well established sports and
have been popular for years. Added TO
these. however In the list Of a well regu-
lated university are many others. Har-
ward. for instance, as the most athlet-
ically devoted university in the country,
supports practically everything except
polo Harvard Is characterized as the
most athleucally devoted because the
Harvard athletic squads are universally
larger than those at any other institu-
tiou. Harvard has basketball. symnas-
tics. swimming. fencing. lawn tennis
hockey. Cr0ss-couutry. golf. shooting Ia
crosse. soccer. water polo. and cricket
Yale has all except cricket, and has be-
sides wrestling, haudball and polo. Hand
ball is not very often intercollegiate in
character, although Yale is mentioned
in connection with # because Columbia
and Yale on occasion have dual hgndball
competitions. The Yale squads which
report for athletic teams are not as large
as they are in Harvard.
Pennsylvania IS very well equipped in
numbers Of athletic competitions. They
have seventeen on their lists al Philadel-
phia. handball and polo being the excep-
ti0ns. Hand0all. cricket, and lacrosse are
The only exceptions at Princeton.
The smaller colleges are devoted mostly
10 the major sports. although naturally
enough some OF them play hockey and
basketball, as conditions permit In most
Of them there Is no chance for many
other sports. although gymnastics. wrest-
ling, and lawn tennis all are favoTitcs.
review Of thirty or forty Of the smaller
colleges Of the country probably would
show that outside Of baseball. football.
and track athletics, time is devoted i'm
many Of them to at least ten sports.
with the limited number Of students and
an equally limited capital for The athletic
associations. this is quite a drain on the
vitality of the student population.
Cost IL Amazing.
What the total cost Of athletics is IN
the colleges Of the United States would
reach a figure Of appalling dimensions.
There are many large universities in the
country where thousands are spent every
season. Football costs $4,000 or $4,000 in
year in the biggest Institutions rowing
totals at least $4,000. Baseball costs, say,
about 5000, and track athletics about
S30o0. Taking a college where fifteen CT
sixteen sports flourish. it is not hard to
imagine that 10000 may be spent in
year on athletics. There are several col
leges which maintain sport on so lavish
a basis. and If il were declared that the
college men Of America, where there are
three or four hundrd institutions Of the
college grade paid about 100000 a year
for athletics, il would be decred as an im-
possibility.
However. taking twenty or thirty insti-
tuti0ns, it does not seem so Impossible.
The sums spent by Harvard, Yale Prince
ton. PENNSYLVANIA. Cornell. Columbia
Wisconsin. Chicago. Michigan. Minnesota,
Illinois, Syracuse. Georgetown, Amherst.
Williams, Dartmouth, Brown, Virginia,
Stanford, and California taken as in
stances. would amount TO more than
100000 altogether That is only a very
small part Of the whole. because If many
other colleges spend only a little money.
at least there are 50 many which spend
small sums that in the aggregate the sum
is worthy Of consideration. I'm fact. Il
seems as if S100o0,CO0 were a very small
estimate for the total spending on ath-
letics
In view of the number OF sports and
the amount spent on them. the athletic
situation is believed to have got beyond
the control Of the student. II is COntcnded
that II Is harmful for young men to de-
vote so much Of their time 20 games and
furthermore, that it is bad for them to
have the handling of great sums of
money. The careful supervision Of ath-
letic funds by a graduate manager in
most institutions makes peculation un-
likely, if not impossible In one way II IS
an excellent thing for the undergraduates
to have in charge funds Of such dmen-
sions. It makes Il necessary for him to
improve and develop the business sense
which he has to display when he gets out
of college.
Too Few in sports
Another angle OF view Of the ath-
letic problem is the percentage Of men in
the institutions WIN takn nart in