The sun., 1917-09-30
Rise and Fall of Nineteenth Century
Sport Analysed by Scientists of
Future and Made Popular

,recy. The devoted sc.ents; and an
/ .ssistan. banded ball 20. the figs:
time across the net. Alter Il few
| see onIs thcv i', pped. the asss tnnt
na'adrU!tly pulling II bone and send.
IN, the bali oil ,be table
The blood pressure and rcheNcs
were tcstcd by the pin! s clan and found
| no. NAL nc ,h." was .cns!blc of aIy
loss o. mas ,iiin.ty or se.;-i spcct
ard inC.ed the orly reaction they ccu'd
describe was II dis s;nct interest and
leasure in the cx,r.ise. From this
they conclud. d thai the post d.ic-
val fear and Contempt Of ping pons
i'"d lr.n hyuot hond.iacal p!fic. and
they resumed the play. the phys clan
cccaS.ona ly taking a turn, and Kept
!, up with the highest enjoyment un-
Il! : \. ~. " n Mr.. l'eHk ms came
"a, to complain of the stanuine on the
hoor.
Iinial shared the se,.e ct with sew
.rai broth,r s.'ieatis;a. ,.l uf whom I'M
nodiat ly caused inble os their own to
be constructed and installed In their
lahoia,or.es, and played the game at
every opportunity. Perkins decided that
years 1889 901 had been justified by
its meritn as an agreeable indoor recre-
ation. and Re published his theories
boldl:' in the British Medical Journal,
with diagrams and directions for max
ing the cut strokes.
Much discussion. both scientific and
popular. was ELECTED. At first there
was considerable hostility aud angry
crowds shouting Death tn the moll.-
coddic." demonstrated outside Per-
Sins'. home. But Ling pong took hold.
and at the pr, >eut time one finds 1t
everywhere in considerable favor dur
ing the winter months
CRwsrs Of Earl. Prejudice.
We are justified IN ascribing the gem
eral disfavor which scrapped the game
completely 500 years ago to two agen-
cies.
The first was the unNritten law Of
caste which then prevailed. According
to Smith-Jones's "Principle Of Fads'
the likelihood Of st-nediieval craze
bscoming permanent varied inversely
az the square of the accessibility of the
craze to the lower castles. In other
words. could the apparatus for ping
pong lave been kept expensive 20 that
only the well to do uhc higher castes)
could have played. the course OF his
tory might have been diverted.
AS II was, any proletariau IA post
medieval grabbing of less than 5000
bucks a Year, could afford the hats
balls and net. while fairly agreeable
version Of the game could bc enjo ,ed
over his dining table. The resiil, was
that every one played, even to the
heanslingcrS, who We're known in some
instances 10 refuse to accept positions
In households wters the kitchen furni-
turc would not accommodate ping
pong.
Thus under Smith h-Jores's curollary
of diminutior the ping pong hug. like
the bicycle bug which preceded and
the rag dance bug which followed 1t,
ceased to be ''smsrt'' within fairly
short space Of time. and as tine lower
castles. with n nervous prejudice diff
cult of understanding to-day. were un-
willing to engase in pastimes which
did not initiate those OF the higher
castles. ping pong was economically and
sociologically doomed. tThe auto bug
on the other hand. was economically
safes uardcd long enough to incorpo-
rate II in serious daily life. By the
time the tin fiiver displaced it as fad
the practical virtues of the auto were
proved. and it remained in a useful IL
subsidiary posit'on after the upper
c;!stes had taken up airplanc rac.sig.)
But ther" was arother and moro se-
rious influence ~ work. the personal
influence Of the remarkable hting vari-
! ouslv described described in history as
T--R, Teddy Rear. the Colonel and
That Man Roosevelt
| Tho personal Influence Of the man
T-R. which WAS s,ici' an astonishin gly
potent force in directing the social
! tendencies Of his time. depended very
| largely upon his extraordinary vital
and muscular endowment He was the
idol of all the young men. who were
already thc prey 81 that morbid anxi-
! city concerning their own health and
of that dread of being thought har-
o!ds which actually kept the useful
wrist watch from public favor until
the Great War reinstated popular
| sanity.