The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-10-29

corpse. Butler is considered to nave been IN
detailed conspiracy, not only to sue upon repuoi
| ated bonds, but to take by attachment state
railroad for their satisfaction. With such car
cumstantial suspicion open against his choice,
the folly Of undertaking the task OF carrying a
Southern State with the aid of man who makes
real in tho Twentieth Century the political dis
honor of the Seventies would be unbelievable,
were it not so tragically palpable.
FOOTBALLS DIsENGENUOUs DE-
TENDERS.
1t has never seemed to us that the hue and cry
over the dangers of football had good founda-
ton in fact Fatal accidents occur in this game,
as in other sports. with something like appalling
regularity. But it does not appear that, in pro-
portion to the numbers engaged deaths and seri-
Gus injuries as a result of football excessive
as to condemn the game. The sport by reason Of
the CONSPICUOUS place it holds in public atten-
ton. simply suffers by reason of the spectacular
character of the injuries and fatalities that are
incident to it.
Although we hold this to be true, little will
be gained by attempts to relieve football as the
cause of deaths reasonably traceable to its prac-
tice. Such a course puts the game in false
hight before the people. 1t is shift from logi-
cal to an untenable defense. Having done every
thing within reason to lessen the dangers Of the
game the colleges and universities can with good
reason point to it's advantages a. counter-bal.
ancing its disasters. No reasonable man attacks
either hunting or swimming as a sport because
of the many tragedies which follow on either.
No one cries down baseball because each sea
son it takes its toll of many more lives than are
sacrificed on the gridiron Yet so sensitive is
the game to the frequently thoughtless attacks
that are made on it, that it is in danger of los
ing in good repute by the zeal Of those who would
relieve it of accidents for which it is in fact re-
sponsible.
The latest case of this sort grows out Of foot
ball practice at Cornell University. A freshman
candidate for the team died suddenly after
practice game. All the circumstances indicated
that the violent and unaccustomed exercise was
the cause of his death, Yet now, after learned
autopsy by Dr. Charles A. Bentz Buffalo
rathologist it is gravely stated that death re-
suited. not from football, but from unavoidable
acute dilataton Of the heart associated with art
erial disease and castro entrocoltis. There was
no evidence of rupture, hernia, or anything else
due to football injury. The castro entrocolitis
Il as the most important part of the dilatation."
On any reasonable analysis, of
what CASTRO entrocoltis in conjunction with d.
| latation of the heart may or may not be or do,
this sort of verdict is equivalent to saying that
man hit with brick dies, not from the brick,
but of compression of the brain at the technical
point of the injury. Dilatation of the heart,
{ as we understand it, may come either as the re-
suit of supreme strain, or by reason of a slow
process of disintegration in important arteries.
We take it that the diatation inthe case of the
Q Cornell student followed upon some such slow
Q pathological condition. 1t would doubtless have
, occurred sooner later had the victim never
seem football field But the fact will not down
t that any violent exercise tends to hasten death
from such cause. 1t puts the arteries and the
heart to much greater strain than they are or
dinarily subjected to. 1t unduly hastens and
precipitates the inevitable catastrophe. To put
: a man whose physical condition inclines him to
heart weakness of any sort in football Cine
up" is practically to sign his death warrant.
}, Taking the autopsy on the body of Young
Paine to be exactly true it appears to remain the
truth that had he not attempted TO play football,
he would still be alive, though doomed to an early
death, but the fault in such case lies. not with
the game of football, which is a sport for indul-
gence by young men physically and mentally
, whole, but with the lack of care ON the part OF
the university authorities who permitted him to
engage in it, A careful examination would no
doubt have disclosed the fatal condition. Such
an examination is the bounden duty of college au-
, thorties everywhere toward the students who de-
. sire to play this rough and manly game When
, such reasonable precaution is omitted, the re-
, suit is chargeabe, not to football, but to the
faculty that permits it to be in this manner un-
Justly condemned.
: sMARCHING ON'-AGAIN.
J, On this page we print thoughtful commune
cation taking pleasant issue with recent Pr
oinian editorial conce rning what we ventured to