The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1908-10-02
IAN UNFORTUNATE AFFAIR
st, Adams Messenger Comments on Lo-
cal Athletic Embroglio.

/ NNA AthANNlt A@AhbAbkhos
The Messenger has no disposition ia
make injudicious comments upon long
distance local affairs in which its imme.
dite clientele may be supposed to have
no personal concern, but when those
affairs are made public in the newspa,
pers, and when they involve topic
that is OF itself OF interest TO people in
general as coming within their own ex.
perlences, too, it may be considered with.
in an outside newspapers province To
pass some opinion upon them In that
spirit, therefore, ii will say that in its
| Judgment the controversy now running
between two such conspicuous Vermont
educational institutions as Goddard sem.
mary at Barre and Montpelier seminary
at the capital, over the charges of al
legged professionalism in athletics at
one of these scnoois, is a most uRfortu-
nate occurrence, not in respect OF the
athletic code involved in it, simply, but
because il is a profitless and even dam
aging distraction OF tne minds and ener-
gies and time and force OF teachers and
students from the first and main purpose
of their assembly.
In recent years we have had evidences
enough that high school and college ath-
letics all proper enough and beneficial
enough in their way, were growing fast
out of their proper and beneficial way,
that they were absorbing an amount Of
time and money and student interest
that was altogether disproportionate to
their worth as d part Of the building Of
a healthy mind in healthy body that
our schools meant to perform OF course,
good many men and a good many
newspapers that have attempted to pro-
test against tiifs oyer.emphasis of school
athletics have been peremptorily CLASH
fed as ''old fogiesn but the public opin-
ion they have endeayored to create il
still alert and growing. There is 3
steadily DE- veluping popular idea that the
over-empbasis OF student athletics is an
unwise perversion Of the time and facuI-
ties, interest and money, Of youth that
are sent to school mainly for other
training, and certainly is no advantage
at all to the vast majority OF boys that
cannto physically qualify TO make" tae
school foot ball or base ball or rowing
teams. at all, but must be content to
help support the chosen few with thear
money and cheer their prowess on the
field.
But when, added to all the possibili-
ties involved in this, two institutions
ot learning that should be maintaining
always a public example OF scholastic
dignity and the reserve Of conscious in
fuence for the elevation OF popular
thought and upift Of public purpose
when two suen institutions become in.
volyed in wrangle over the relative
unfairness with which their athletics are
conducted and the details of the wrangle
not only til the newspapers, but absorb
the energies and interest OF faculty and
students, alike, the very worst aspect of
the influence OF tine ove-emphasis of
school athletics is shown mp plainly
enough. There may be students at these
two institutions that are studying their
lessons nowhere probably are--hlt
most folks know what the all prevailing
topic il among them and what largely
forms the dominating theme Of active
hours
1t isSa regrettable occurrence. 1t can
not help educational work 1t does not
leave a good taste in the mouth. 1t
docs not associate the institutions in the
public mind with the best effort they are
known to be capable OF now or what
they have performed in the past. The
passing public thought eontemplates only
tae unseernly squabble and the folly it
has grown out of.--St, Adams Messen-
ger.