The morning journal-courier., 1908-03-26
LIMITING ATHLETICS AT YALE.


 LIMITING ATHLETICS AT YALE.
 So far as general sentiment goes, 1t appears that the proposed plan of re- ducing the number of inter- collegiate encounters has been commented upon favorably As has been stated, the Associated Press made a canvass of the faculty representatives on the ath- letic committees last fall, when the same proposal was first brought up, and at that time all favored it with but one or two exceptions, Interviews obtained this week at Princeton. Col umbia. Chicago, Wisconsin and Penn sylvania show that the plan is being given serious consideration. The ques- ton at stake seems to be whether ath- leties interfere with classroom work and, if they do, just how much they  should be curtailed To be sure there was one sporting enthusiast who came forward not long ago with a plan for the Columbia boys who have been de- nied the right to play football, whereby he advised them to enjoin the faculty from interfering with them in the mat ter. This gentleman went so far as to say that faculties have no right to interfere with students who are of age in matters of personal liberty such as athletics But the gentleman has nev- CT been taken entirely seriously, so the fact that the faculty right exists does not seem questioned.
 President Eliot has put himself on record as wishing to curtail the Har- yard athletic activities to two games in each branch each season. If this cannot be accomplished this year he has high hopes for next. The two uni- versailles that he would meet are un- derstood to be Yale and Dartmouth. President Eliot's opinion on the mat ter seems 10 be the one extreme. At the other extreme stands our own Dr. Hadley, who asserts that the policy Yale has carried out in the past Is good enough for the future. That pol icy is one of limiting the activities of college men in athletic matters. not SC much by decreasing the number of games as by insisting on regular at- tendance and good work in the class room. And. the muck -rakers'' to the contrary. there is no one who can point to any Yale athletes who have enjoyed 1 favoritism in this class room rule
 Washington's birthday with its at. tendant fence rush at Yale came on Saturday this year This fact supplied the material for joke. which the Yale man of the present generation is only capable of understanding. One collegi. i ate was reported as asking another whether he intended getting into the rush that Saturday. The other replied l with query in turn. He asked (Which one? The one at the fence or the one for the train?'' The Saturday morning rush for the station and the train to get out of town for over Sun. |. day is getting to be more and more universal at Yale. Those only may he counted on to stay week after week
 who have not the needed cash to gel away. Understanding this to be tht case then, the public will better appre. ciate the statement made by President
 Hadley Monday in reference to ath.
 letic curtailment when he spoke of tho
 habit of getting out of town at week
 ends as being "more serious inter.
 ruption of college work and the legiti
 mate interests of college life than mos ! of the intercollegiate sports He ther
 added: "If the sports keep the stud
 ents together l am afraid we shall d,
 more harm than good by discouraein,
 them.".
 If any curtailment in the number Q
 athletic encounters is made at Yale, i
 is certain that it vii not be nearl,
 so sweeping as that proposed at liar
 yard. Nowadays the cry at Yale i
 continually: "Get more men into ath
 letics for their health's sake" Every thing is done that can be done to or ganize second and third and fourtl
 teams. scrub teams. class teams, ant
 even dormitory teams. If any curtail
 ment is forthcoming it is to be expect
 ed with the purpose in view of gettinl a greater number of men into athle ] tics by limiting the field that the sta men can enter At present at Prince
 ton a man can enter only two branch
 es of sports. Perhaps the same rul i Will follow here Al any rate on i thing may be counted on with certain