Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1918-07-03

"Fafr Play Unknown to Germans
Many preconceived ideas OF TIE Ger
mans have been shattered by the ruth
lessness of war as carried on by them.
The atrocities committed in the
name OF war seem almost inexplicabIe
in people heretofore counted among
the civilized nations Of the earth.
This has been attributed to the
brutalizing effects OF war, but this ex-
PLANTATION falls before the fact that at
the very outset of the war, Germany
entered upon her inhuman orgies in
unonending Belgium. English and
French soldiers, after nearly four
years of war, are still human.
Some other explanation must be
sought, and may be found in the
German theory OF competition-wiu
by all means, if not by fair means,
then By foul, bat win-the end just
ifies the means. So treaties become
Nscraps of paper" and international
law and civilized rules of warfare go
into the scrap heap.
William Heyliger, a well known
writer of boys books, throws a new
light on this attitude of the German
mind by calling attention to the fact
that German writers OF boys books
have incnlcated in them no Ideals of
sport, and that German boys have no
sports in which standards OF honor in
competition are recognized. He says:
Mer whose experiences with boys has been
broad aud deep say that II the fundamental
truths Of honor and fair play are to be pre-
scented to boys. they must be interpreted In
terms the boys can understand They under
stand school, they understand their sports.
II q writer, through the thriH and tension Of
story, can make them see he meanness and
the faint and the tSrnish Of a victor without
honor. is it not fair to suppose that they will
carry this ideal with them through lifes
Consider for a moment that Germany has
no national sport; that German boys have no
books dealing with fair play and with boyish
standards of honor in competition. The Anglo
Saxon cry Of "a fair Geld and no favor" has no
counterpart in the German tongue.
You see this war to me, is just like a game
OF baseball. But it's q game in which the
two teams are not properly matched. The
one team is playing the game fairly and
squArsly-out to win according 10 the decent
rules Of the game. The other is out to wiz
al any price. They have no conception of
fair sport and they're up to all sorts OF foa
play. The only thing that can be said IL
their favor ID that they don't know ans
better. They haven't been trained to under
stand the spirit Of fair play.
1t would have beeu different If the German
boys of the past had hsd juvenile literature.
But they didn't have it. Aud they have no
boys sports They don't know what boys
games mean. The only thing in which they
are trained 10 take an interest from theii
youth is athletics. The object, Of course, Ii
obvious. II is TO turn men into fghte.s
Il is the giorifcAtion OF muscle, the alteration
of the brute man.
In Anglo-Ssxon countries our boys stal
with different conception of life They &c
this through their books and their games
great deal of 1t comes through baseball an.
cricket. Every American boy, for instance
knows that baseball must be played Clearly
that there's no fun in winning foul game
In football he knows that If he fouls. it ism
he who's punished; it's his whole side tina
pays the penalty. This makes him under
stand that the teamwork must be clean 9
well as himself individually. The German
have no conception of this sort of thing. IT.
because they haven't the games, and dom
know the underlying rules OF fair sport a
prsctised By Others