Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-09-17

of life For instance, Wnen HidI nos
met with great reverses IN fortune anu
comes to the front battling bravery 10
preserve his honor and honesty we can
him a good sportsman and love TO give
him leg UP.
Sport a Strong Word.
Snort also means all that is best IN
open competition. both in man and AMI
NAL. where anything crooked, mean or
degrad ding is not entitled to the appella-
! ton. Here | have been running the
risk of getting a black eye. as, accord
ing to my vernacular, | could quite We'll
refer to a lady friend or relative as a
good sport. and mean only that she ioIes
outdoor exercises and pastimes. whereas
here, with the ~ added. l would ce:-
tainly have got that punch.
Again. man is called a sport here
who is a gambler. bar frequenter and
frequenter of certain places not blue, ana
who loves to come home with the milk
wagons My word for him would be a
rake No wonder the legislatures have
tried to put down sport Il sport means
what il appears to mean here. Mind YOU,
| am not posing as model l am no bet
ter than tie rest of them right Cow. and
have made them hum IN my time, but
never looked upon ii as al addition to my
sports:na Mike qualities. but rather SOW
ing of wild oats. which brought no bars
TO my escutcheon of craftsmanship.
Back to Old Meaning.
| think a serious campaign should be
started to go back to the old application
of the word sport. and the full, splendid
meaning of the word sportsman. Why,
, Col. Newcombe was grand old sports
man. but l am quite sure Thackeray
never recorded that he ever went on a
tear or painted the town red Can't
we invent some new word for the high
hvero | have nothing particularly against
him. as long as he keeps within bounds
and does not call himself a sport. If
my readers ill suggest some nomencla-
ture we will try 10 start cult of the true
rendering of the word sport.
No doubt if it had not been for some of
these so-called sports we might now lie
ha wing a lovely race meeting. with women
in their best dresses spectators and
all the finest men of all classes who love
a horse meeting enjoying the sport of
kings Might we not tonight be having a
bout between two splendid boxers. who
fight for honor and glory first and the
purse as necessary adjunct for their
livelihood.
Pseudo Sports Spoil Game.
But no: we can't have any of it, and all
because these so-called sports spoiled the
game, degraded the ring and reviled the
whole lovely combination by crooked
methods | believe the day will come
when Americans@NN:li use the word sport
as il is meant to be used. and the word
sportsman as the highest pinnacle of
everyday Efe to which man or for that
matter. woman can reach That day
will see the opening of fine and splendid
race courses and we'll conducted clubs for
.atit he
The authorities who have stopped rae
ing and boxing must remember that they
have stopped all the legitimate outlets
for men to get the reasonable natural
and healthy excitement which all people
crave for especially English speaking
people Fancy an Indian garrison town
or the Rock of Gibraltar or the Sudan
without race course. If such thing
were possible. Then it were possible for
the British army to go on strike, and
sure as / write these words. harm is
being done to the people by stopping
these sef-sam legitimate outlets for the
animal spirits of the community.
True Sport a Safety Valve.
| feel sure that illegitimate forms of
sport perhaps sport of the kind above
referred to of the blue order. will attack
our vitals and make the authorities sorry
that instead of closing up nearly all
arenas of sport they dld not draStcally
cleanse them.
True sport is the finest thing on earth.
II is the legitimate reward of good work
Ultimately the people will have it. and
those who stand in the way of a regen-
Grafton of good sporting events are not
true TO the best interests of the people
&~ <~z
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