The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-08-02
SERVES A
 USEFUL PURPOSE
Aids in Developing Young Men For General Military
 Service.

Announcement by Surgeon General Gorgas of uniform standards of phy- sical examination to be used by medi- cal officers in examining recruits, in- dicates what the service sport can rem der in making men fit for the army. The, new standards apply to the reg ular army, national army and national guard, and are based on the experi- ence of the medical authorities during the past year in examining thousands of recruits The official opinion as to the qualifications a man must possess to be good soldier followi
 The rule for all three armies is l that to make a good soldier man must see well, have comparatively good hearing, his heart must be able to stand the stress of physical exer- 1 tion, he must be intelligent enough to understand and execute military man. euvers. obey commands and protect himself, and must be able to trans port himself by walking as the exi- gencies of military life may demand"
 Speaking as vice president of the l United States National Lawn Tennis Association, Julian S. Myrick said: ''The association Is glad to have this concise definition of the governments 8 requirements for recruits, as 1t gives us definite object to attain. For two years we have been working in this direction and have repeatedly urged upon our members the importance of general participation In sport, because of the physical benefits that result. Tournaments merely as such have been discounted and all our effort has been to accomplish the greatest pos sible progress in making our nation physically fit
 '"The results are encouraging Re- ports from all over the country show that while tournament play has lapsed in some places, more tennis Is being played than ever before. Manufactur- CTS of balls, for instance, say that they are behind on orders. One distribut- ing house which serves six states re- gently reported a shortage of 5000 dozen balls, and this condition Is quite general.
 Another proof of the widespread interest in tennis comes from the pub lie courts in all the larger cities. In New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Kansas City, Cleveland and other cities where courts in parks offer one of the most popular means of municipal recreation, the number of players seems to be larger than ever before. This means that people are taking more exercise, having rec ognized the fact that they benefit themselves by taking part in some form of sport, rather than by enjoy ing a game merely as spectators
 Tennis develops speed of mind and body, for a player must think and act instantly. No game does more to
 develop a sure eye and perfect co-or- dination of all movements. because most strokes are made while a player Is in motion, after a fast-hying ball As for endurance, anyone who can go ' through a few sets these days will pass a good test as to- his heart and footwork
 Because of the associations con l viction that the sport thus serves a ! useful purpose it naturally decided to 5 support the work of the war depart ment commission on training camp ac- [ tivities This commission Is using
 sport both as a means of recreation for men in the service and as train , ing for their military duties. Construc- : ton of tennis courts in many camps
 has extended the usefulness of ten I his in remarkable manner and tht < continuing demands for equipmen l shows that the men want the game a 'The association is sending to al , it's members this statement by Sur
 geon General Gorgas and will con
 tinue to impress upon the tennis pub , lie of our country the importance O |, reguler exercise from the milita-I . viewpoint The fact that thousand
 of our players are already in the ser
 vice shows what the game has done il the past. It will be the association :. aim to make this contribution stil U larger in the years that are to come.