Omaha daily bee., 1910-03-06
MORE HONORS FOR ATHLETES
Demand Made that Honors Be Spread
in a Wider Range.
INTEREST A LARGER NUMBER
Princeton Plan A. Set Forth as Giving
More Students an Opportunity
to Develop Through
Athletics.


NEW YORK, March B,-Demand fOl
greater liberallty in awarding university
athletic insignia, even the varsity letter, Il
becoming widespread. H&rvard's cross
country men are not alone in the field II
this respect, as the sentiment Is growing
noticeably at Princeton. TIL Tiger hockey
team. champions Of the intercollegiate
Hockey league, sports the 'P" and there II
evidently some support OF the idea al
Princeton Of going a trifle further. There
seems to be no desire to cheaper the let
ter, but to give the conscientious athlete
a reward for good work, ever when II
does not quite measure up to the TOP
standard.
1t is interesting to note, in this connec-
ton, the signs Of an organized effort at
Princeton to build up the track team
against the coming OF Keene Fitzpatrick
through greater liberality with insignia
This from the Daily Prineetonian' Is
characteristic;
'"The senior class recently passed a reso-
tuition stating It to be the opinion Of the
class that there should be more encour-
agement given to men to participate In
athletics by awarding more insignia. While
1t is realized that It Is the privilege Of
belonging to a team, the honor that such
membership carries with II, the love of
the sport, the hance to help In keeping
up the athletic prestige of the university,
or other equally laudable reasons that moves
men to try for positions IN teams, still
It is true that the privilege OF wearing a
special insignia Is priced by nearly all, and
with some would be an appreciable factor
in inducing them to compete.
tn Is a plea for a wider recognition
Of the work lone by track men. This sport
is on the rise. II present indications count
for anything, n should be given all pos
siblo encouragement. Awarding some
insignia that could be worn and kept after
the participant had ceased to be a member
Of the track team might draw out a few
more men In that sport. But, laying aside
this argument, the men who are now on
the team deserve more recognition thar
they get. Men IN the other major sports
have only to get into a Yale or Harvard
game In order to win their letter. but a
embe Of the track team has to win a
first place either in the Yale meet, a
point In the intercollegiate meet, or break
a Princeton record, to get the same
recognition.
Those who nave worked hard all season,
or mayhap all year and get only the var
sity stripe. get merely the equivalent Of
the stripe worn on the stockings or Jer-
sey by the foot ball or base ball men,
since it car be worn only in connection
with the track suit. These track men who
do not quality for the varsity letter, Of
course. do not deserve II, but they do
merit some recognition. Indeed, they are
the kind Of contestants IN which our
track teams OF the past few years have
been woefully weak-namely, in the en-
trants Of secondary rank who stand some
chance, but not the best chance, OF winning
points.
What the insignia should be can easily
be determined. 1t is not 50 much the exact
thing itself that counts, but what that
thing represents in the minds Of others,
The adoption Of some such device or
monogram would be In accordance with
the ideas recently expressed by the senior
class, would give the men now on the team
the recognition that they deserve and might
be OF no small Influence In bringing out
some Of those men OF fairly good ability
that the track team so much needs at the
present time"