The morning journal-courier., 1908-05-25
HARyARD'S ATHLETICS.

HARyARD'S ATHLETICS.
The Harvard faculty has come out
with more comment upon thu athletic
situation Professor Hart in defense of
the Harvard idea of faculty inter-
ference and President Eliot pointing
out what varieties of sports are in
his opinion, unsuited for intercolleg
late contests, The latter Is far from
being a new topic with President Eliot.
but at this iunctuce he makes some
additional statements that call for
comment our youth, says he,
should cultivate sports which they
may prohtably and easily indulge in
during the whole If their lives" Up
on this basis he shoots another shaft
at that much abused bulls-eye, foot
ball, and contemplatos lnwardly with
pleasure the happy morn when II will
be no moro at Cambridge. His argu-
ment Is simple one At least
twenty-five men are required to play
the game and in nearly every instance
many more than that when the substi-
tutcs and officials are considered In
the days after graduation the foot
ball player but seldom finds he can as
/ ~ I, - Ia ~ 10
cssary for a game and he at once
realizes that the sport is to .6main
but a memory Of his earlier days, not
to be played again. Therefore, If
football had no other bad points tand
II has). President Eliot believes this
argument alone is enough to consure
It, as we'll as baseball and any other
games In which a great number Of
mon are necessary 10 play.
President Eliot forgets one thing,
that collegiate athlete develops not
so much love for a sport as a love
/ for sports. He is no less good in
dividual golf player because he has
been successful unit of football
team. Then, too, il team work Is on
4 ~ possible during few years Of life
should It's advantages be lost alto
/ gether when available? Team work
is increasingly the basis of successful
| ACTIVITY nowadays in social, political.
and financial endoavors. The strength
that comes with unity, the possibilities
5ttainable when each unit has learned
tho lesson Of soldier-like obedience are
too great to be overlooked. Corpora
/ ton even in athletes develops char
acter. In spite OF the fact that 1t has
been estimated, and estimated reason
ably, that football, baseball and other
similar games are not played By 80
per cent. Of the players after gradua-
/ tlon because Of the highly organized
team work and the great number of
/ piiPli lilhl 10 l'Null'ht oiili wat
fact is not entirely to be regretted.
In later years this 90 per cent. gets
its athletic thrills by watching its
successors play and retains its health
by INDUCING in those sports that a.e
available.
In defending the system OF faculty
4 control of athletics at Harvard against
al attack made in the Harvard Grim
son. Professor Hart says: There
/ might be some better system fer the
control Of athletics; God might have
berry, but then He never did" Moth
Ing, he says, would please the Har-
ward faculty more han that athletics
should take care Of themselves. But
this Is impossible; athletics interfere
with the curriculum. This is the case
not so much with the players them
selves, as with the whole student
body Too much, energy goes into
seeing other people perform athletic
exercise" he says, Furthermore, he
points out that the athletic relation
ships Of the colleges have produced "a
system of intcrcolle giate law, school
of intercollegiate diplomacy, net
work Of alliances protocols, agree
ments, and treaties, which during the
last twenty years have been some
times made and always sanctioned by
the athletic committee but which can
not escape the attention OF the fac
ulty," He points out that these dis
cussions Of rules are so important
that it Is unWise for the faculty to
turn them over to the students to man
ipulate. We wonder II the professor
realizes that Yale had to go through
a greater amount of diplomats pre-
liminaries before her contests with
Harvard each year and to make more
treaties and alliances and agreements
than with any other university Is
II not fair to suppose that those very
conditions are due to the fact that at
Harvard the faculty has not learned
the wisdom Of the doctrine of hands
! off in athletic matters2 The t,rofea-