The Washington herald., 1919-12-03
Proper Place for Sports.
White House. Oct. 4. 19G

White House. Oct. 4. 1903.
DEAR TED:
In spite of the Hurry Hurry!" on
the outside Of your envelope, did not
like to act until had consulted Moth
er and thought the matter over; and
to be frank with you. old fellow, I
am by no means sure that / am doing
right now. If It were not that I feel
you will be so bitterly disappointed. l
would strongly advocate your acquies-
cling in the decision to leave you of
the second squad this year. I am proud
Of your pluck, and greatly admire
football-though 1t was not a game
was ever able to play myself, my
qualities resembling Kermit's rather
han yours. But the very things that
make 1t a good game make it a rough
game. and there is always the chance
Of your being laid up. Now, I should
not in the least object to your being
laid up for season If you were striv-
ing for something worth while, to get
on the Groton school team, for in
stance, or on your class team when
you entered Harvard. for, of course. l
don't think you will have the weight
to entitle you to try for the varsity
But am by no means sure that it is
worth your while to run the risk OF
being laid up for the sake of playing
in the second squad when you are a
fourth former, instead OF when you
are fifth former. ! do not know that
the risk Is balanced by the reward
However. have told the Rector that
as you feel so strongly about it. 1
think that the chance of your dam
aging yourself in body is outweighed
a - III
1t If you could not play. Understand
me, I should think mighty little of you
If you permitted chagrin to make you
bitter on some point where it was evi-
IDENTIFY right for you to suffer the cha
grin. But in this case l am uncer-
tain. and l shaIHgive you the benefit
Of the doubt II. however, the coaches
at any time come to the conclusion
that you ought not be in the second
squad. why you must come OF with
out grumbling.
am delighted to have you play foot
ball. I believe in rough, manly sports.
But I do not believe in them if they
degenerate into the sole end of any
ones existence. 1 don't want you to
sacrifice standing well in your studies
to any over-athleticism; and 1 need
not tell you that character counts for
a great deal more than either intel
lect or body in winning success in life
Athletic proficiency Is a mighty good
servant. and like so many other good
servants, a mighty bad master. Did
you ever read Pliny's letter to Trajan.
in which he speaks OF its being ad-
Visable to keep the Greeks absorbed in
athletics, because IL distracted their
minds from all serious pursuits, in
Guiding soldering, and prevented their
ever being dangerous to the Romans?
l have not a doubt that the British
officers in the Boer war had their ef-
ficiency partly reduced because they
had sacrificed their legitimate duties
to an inordinate and ridiculous love of
sports A man must develop hs physi-
cal prowess up to a certain point:
but after he has reached that point
there are other things that count
more. In my regiment nine-tenths of
the men were better horsemen than
was. and probably two-thirds of them
better shots than l was, while on the
average they were certainly harder
and more enduring. Yet after 1 had
had them very short while they all
knew, and l knew too, that nobody
else could command them as 1 could.
am glad you should play football; 1
am glad that you should box; I am
glad that you should ride and shoot
and walk and row as well as you do.
I should be very sorry If you did not
do these things. But don't ever get
into the frame of mind which regards
these things as constituting the end
to which all your energies must be de-