Norwich bulletin., 1918-03-15

of expensive athletic equipment, of training tables and the wiping out Of the hippodroming features of big inter collegiate games all part of the present wartime move-has as the E main objective the4getting of the house in order for new era in intercol- legiate sport following the war. In this connection spNting writers are coming in for h shot or two, here and 1 there, for featuring college athletic | news. a matter that automatically 1 takes care of itself if the objective of these seducators be attained.
 But attaining this objective is tre- | mendous task. It means nothing less | than changing human nature, for indi- l viduaIs with money many continue to l hold that they have the right to use their coin as they will according to each mans conscience and within the law They reason that it is legiti- l mate for them to educate poor boy, l even if the selfish purpose is to glo- rify the college in an athletic sense. And they can point with pride to many successful men of today, who. by this means, were able to get the education which gave them their start in life. Breaking up such a thing is about i'm possible N if carried too far can
  ments. So much for that.
 The fine mentality of the men who seek to make a new order of things in college athletics after the war is shown in their plan as so far revealed. They do not any longer directly strike at the right of proselyting; they go beyond this and seek to remove the reason for prosefyting and consequent professionalism by wipfng out inter- collegiate sport as we knew it up to the. time Uncle Sam decided to cleanse William the Rotten.
 Nearly everyone knows if the war Egoes a ,long tine-and that seems to be the general view = that our cd ucationa1A institution will be on 9 nili- | tary basissand that sport will he noth l ing Glore than what it should be- subc&dinate to military work. This will automatically wipe out big games 1 and athletic heroes and substitute in their places battles and military com manders+ Consequently the youth of the country will naturally fall into line and forget about great football play
 CTS and other college athletic stars. Sport on a military basis means sport for all From a commercial
 standpoint it is small potatoes. Army sport produces few stars and the
 army itself is too busy to note who they are. Consequently, if the col leges<get upon military basis, which seems plausible the 4th of July will
 be knocked out of college sport and
 can only be restored after the war
 is over. You have to hand it tot the
 educator who is studying college sport
 and seeking to alter it He figures on
 the tomorrow more, than the today. iHe
 is putting over propaganda that would
 make a PrussianS jealous.
 Whether the educator who is at
 tempting this is going to get away
 with it remains to be seen. Few col , 1eges have seen fit to give up inter
 collegiate competition and there is nc
 prophet among us as yet who can state ! if this war will cause it to be cast out with the things we class as lln-
 necessary. And even if this is done
 there is fight on hand once peace is declared. Then, unless we continue !. on military basis, youth will seek
 to match youth in physical tests, and ] there is no good reason to suppose that the rest of us will not be present tc . see the fun. That is intercollegiate sport and a great many people think , it a fine thing to for boy. even under . the conditions prevalent when we weni l to war.
 After all it is the spirit of the thins T which counts. That is what the anna teur propagandists shout at us. They cannot countenance professionalism , in any form. Spirit, eh! What do yol ] think of this?
 The writer knew of noted varsity y runner who was technically a proees ( sional because be was aided financial z ly in getting through college. Later h,
 oaet runner from another college,
 technical and spiritual amateur, Yht { ran many a. race in his undergraduat, 4 days aaginst the technical pro run i. ner. The amateur. entered his las $ race against the pro in college dua
 meet. The amateur had never wol E his varsity letter. To do so he had t. win a first in this his last dual meet
 His chances seemed doomed. But ol z the last lap when all hope scene,
 dead. for the pro was jogging along il !. the van, an, easy winner, strang z thing happened. The pro looked owe 4 his shoulder saw the amateur, check < ed his pace and when the amateu E challenged him the pro said:
 :, Come on now. S-! I'll pace vol in, and if no one else comes up 1t s your race.'
 F S-, the amateur. won that rae and his coveted letter as well. He ha
 always held that the other fellow
 technically a ,prc, was the fines " sportsman he' ever knew.
 :. There's the whole rub, in athletics # amateurism is of the spirit; but wha
 of the spirit of that pro?
 fConay;o3,+ 1o1e c,nr.> >-