The Washington times., 1938-10-26

cific Coast large number of other football classics
In the cards.
It's reminder of what giant business football is in
the United States
Some figures: American college footballs total take in
a bad year has never, in recent times, gone
A Major below $40 000 600. Last year the figure was
Tndustru over 75,OOOOOO
Attendance at 387 games at seventy-five
representative colleges last totaed 775OOOO-a 40
increase 1885, in spite of the recession that came on in
the fall of 1887 Professional football hung up total
recordbreaking attendance in 1887 of 1176,OOO. We
haven't been able to by any estimates total at
tendance at high and prep school But of these
Leo High vs. Austin High in Chicago scored 1879 record
attendance for every kind of football game, 100000
A big teams coaching salaries average total of be-
tween $50 900 and $4,000 year What the players get
in cash or athetc scholarships campus soft jobs is
something about which the colleges are extremely coy but
everybody knows the total must be impressive sum OF
money Equipment to SIS to S1OO man; the train
ing table costs money and do trainers rubbers phys
cans railroad fares and press agents. Football in the
United States is major industry.
That is all to the good, we think
The great American philosopher and psychologist, Will
liam James, once wrote essay entitled "The Moral
Equivalent of War" (first pub
WHLLUm JuHIeS lished for general circulation in
Croo+ Eooc,, McClure's Magazine, August
1910. In this famous piece
James surmsed that the instinct is an eternal human
instinct
only hesitate pay,
the budgets of all nations show us.
AS to the of the ancients, pride, gold, money
slaves, excitement their only motives"-to which
it might be added that things haven't changed much in
this respect from then to
James felt that "a moral equivalent of war; must be
found by the pacifsts (of whom he one) if they
oLo1c1
must be outlet for4he human love of struggle
quest power, discipline in believed to be good
and James suggestion for universal yearly
draft of young people into factories coal mines tunnel
projects structural steel jobs and all the other tougher
posts in our civilization Thus, he hoped, they would
work off lot of warlike steam in peace.
We think James idea has been to some extent carried
out in this country by college football Here we have
bands of warriors meeting fighting fields in mud and
- blood, of them occasionally getting
OHe hIH0 injured killed. The women admire
Of Wnr these hero types, the children worship
them, the spectators satisfy their own
blood lust to large degree by watching the wild pro-
ceedings the field.
The farther extend football whether amateur
professional the larger of amora equivalent
of war ought to build up.
AS for the question of hiring football players think
the colleges justified in doing this provided only
that they require these to keep up in their studies,
just the West Point and Annapolis players, who
hired and maintained by the Government, required
to do. It's honorable Plenty of hired college
football players move into coaching training jobs
most useful occupations in themselves They win through
to better life than they would have lived without their
football experiences the net gain is considerable.
Well, have a good time next Saturday at whichever
game you to; if you can't CO. tune in on the
radio. There's grander sport that we know Of