COL. WM. A. BANCROFT ON COLLEGE ATHLETICS.

The care and development of the body are of an importance less only than the care and development of the mind. One might go farther, and say without much fear of contradiction that a sound body is indispensable to a sound mind. But, regardless of the exact value that may be placed upon a strong and healthy body, it will scarcely be denied that its possession is often a matter of great convenience. Why, then, should not attention be given to physical training during the same years that are given to mental training? Why is not a certain portion of a college student's day devoted profitably to athletic exercise, not only as a relaxation from the work of the mind, but also as a means of acquiring vigor for future use? The pursuit of athletic exercise in some form or other has always taken a portion of the time of many college students; but not until within the last decade has it been suggested that athletics were not only not a benefit, but were a positive evil. The objections to athletics have been directed chiefly to those which are of an inter-collegiate competitive character, and are three in number: first, the morals of those who engage in athletic sports are corrupted; second, those engaged are often subjected to physical injury; and third, if they are fortunate enough to escape the first two evils named, the time devoted to athletics is devoted at the expense of their studies.

The first objection is not warranted, unless it is maintained that to go about among and deal with men is to engender corruption; for there is nothing in the competition of athletic sports any more than in other competitions of life that necessarily corrupts the morals. The other two objections, while they have without doubt foundation in individual cases, have not in general been warranted by the practice of college students, either in this country or in England. Whenever a man has been seriously or permanently injured in an athletic contest, it has invariably been traced either to the natural unfitness of the individual for the contest, or more frequently to a hasty, inadequate or injudicious preparation-excepting in the case of field sports, such as base-ball and foot-ball; and there the risks of injury are much less than in many of the vocations of life. To obviate as much as possible the liability of physical injury by reasons of the causes named above, it would seem to be the duty of college authorities to provide, or to allow the students to provide, suitable directors of athletic sports, just as instructors in mental studies are provided. As to the third objection, it regulates itself. In colleges where the authorities undertake to control the time of the students, the latter will be allowed to devote only so much time to athletic sports as in the judgement of the authorities can be devoted profitably. In colleges where the students are left to lay out their own time, if their studies are neglected because of too great attention to athletics, they alone are to blame, just as they alone are to blame if they give too much time to card-playing or to the theatre, or to many other attractions that-innocent in themselves and even beneficial-are known to interfere with a high position on the rank list.