The Wilmington morning star., 1945-02-09
By WESTBROOK PEGLER

BY WEsTBRoOK PEGLER
Copyright 1885, by King Features Syndicate.)
Twelve years ago, when Franklin D. Roose-
welt inauguarated for the first time on
the bedizened pine scaffold on Capitol hill.
any act Of sordid treachery to the old varsity
spirit by group of student athletes would
have struck the people of the United States
like the blow of sawed off pool cue.
Now it is just news conforming to the pat
tern of the day.
We had ideals then or illusions if you will.
Our government had been contaminated
time and again. Professional foot-racing had
thrived and died of it's own poison. Horse
racing a gambling device dappled DER with
responsibility and aristocracy, was inevitably
corrupt. Prize fighting, as a sport or excite
ment had had its alternating periods of pres
tige and disrepute. Baseball, still one of our
purest institutions today, had been fouled res
cued, exploited, again betrayed and finally.
under Judge Kenesaw Mountain Lands, re-
deemed as national treasure almost as
significant as the Stars and Stripes.
1 am not exaggerating.
NV contemporaries will agree that the peo-
pie were more deeply aroused by the inf
deity of the erring members OF the White
Sox in the World series of 1919 against the
Cincinnati Reds than they were by the revela-
regime. We had shuddered, shrugged n d
come through many crises of dishonest ad
ministration in local, state and national gov
eminent. But baseball was regarded az ma
tional treasure and trust. The men who con-
spired to throw the games were condemned
to historic dsrepute. Unlike many ether and
more grievous offenders against more :mpor-
tant articles of our sentimental faith, they
were branded and barred forever although,
actually, they had only taken revenge on
stingy and arrogant employer who paid them
miserable wages and supped them with a
long spoon.
In the old Frank Merriwel weeklies gam
blers had, to be sure, tried to bride the heroes
of our adolescence to throw games OF base
ball and football but always had been thwart-
ed. But this was fantastic fiction The basic
idea was unthinkable.
All this while, however, and from the days
Of '98 when the troops came back from Cuba,
our intercollegiate sport had been proceeding
under a nasty attempt at compromise be-
tween honesty and deceitful pretense.
Our great universities, public as well as
private, resorted to practices which we called
PROSECUTING, recruiting and professionalism.
Great educators including clergymen, W
should have had finer sense of honor and
responsibility, would connive at bargains with
young physical giants who thus were coasteo
through their classes with false scholastic rat
ings SO that they were awarded degrees which
they had not earned, in order that they might
be kept eligible under the rules to play
football. They squinted at covert subsidies and
salaries to young professional hired for the
purpose of advertising their schools and i'm
proving their own spurious distinction as edu-
Gators.
The effect on a more and more cynical
public was less harmful than the impression
of their dishonesty on their own legitimate
undergraduate students. The students were
teenies and twenties and inquisitive and wise,
the girls as well as the boys. They knew that
their preceptors were hypocrites still. In those
days we never entertained the fought that
even subsidized player would throw game
for a bride from gambler.
In the era of wonderful nonsense some Of
us were called cyncs and destructive critics
because we jibed and sneered at mock-ama-
teurism and professionalism. That was
strange way of putting it because they cynl-
cism was on the other side and thew were
destroying faith by their tolerance Of hypo-
crisy. Similarly, in these ecent years, one is
accused of cynicism if one attacks cynlclsm IN
government and Of disresrect for the presl-
dency if one protests against sordid, personal
exploitation of that office in leering contempt
for its dignity.
Those who condoned the collegiate sport sys-
tenn held that little cheating and little
more cheating was only an amiabe folly
which well justified itself in the fine new
buildings. the athletic equipment, the SWIM
ming pools and other substantial profits OF
corrosive example to the young l find that
some Democratic voters of today have the
same mental attitude regarding personal graft
in office masked as legitimate earnings, to-
ward the bribery of voters by relief grants
and the extortion of enormous campaign funds
for the ruling party through compulsory as
sessments lived men and women VINO
may be thrown out of work for failure to pay.
Look what we got in return; social security,
bank insurance and collective BARGAINING
In the beginning l referred to RooseVelts
first Inauguration and our almost unanimous
faith in his campaign promises his party plat
form and his protestations of purpose. Almost
Immediately these all we're betrayed. Never
before has our government had such great
personal, moral influnce on the young men
and women of the United States and this cynl-
cism, greed, sordidness and flippancy in grave
matters of trust is reflected, in miniature IN
the confessions of group of young college
players who faxed basketball games for the
benefit of gamblers who bribed them This is
not a new feat of corruption Only the tleio
is new and these pioneers can point to nigh
example,
Isn't public office racket? Isn't unlonlsm
racket?
Why then should varsity athletics be sa-
cred?
-V-
~ INT q "