THE LIGHT MAN'S BURDEN

Proponents of 150-pound football refuse for the second time to be silenced by the discouraging pronunciamento of the H.A.A., and their petition for the revival of a lightweight squad continues to attract names testifying to the numerical strength of their cause. As expressed by Mr. Bingham, the foremost point in the opposition is the failure to get any competition other than the final game with Yale. Considering the number of eligible institutions in the immediate vicinity, and the opportunities afforded by eight House teams, all within calling distance, it seems that some part of the managerial board is fallen into an apathy of lamentable proportions.

The conflict in this question remains, however, between the almost universal demand for athletic recognition among lightweight men, and the claims of exclusively inter-House football. Quite excusably the petitioners are not overwhelmed by the attractions of House football, more popular this year among the heavyweights, and withal far less developed in the style of its game. Even last year only 25 per cent or less of the 150-pound squad played House football before the team's organization. In this connection one should overlook neither the tremendous increase in the popularity of crew following the creation of light Varsity and Freshman units, nor the large decrease in Freshman football players when the "gridiron diminutives" were abolished.

Ideally the solution would be to form separate 150-pound teams in each of the Houses, but even with the large number who this year have declared themselves eager to play, there is but a bare possibility. Failing that, lightweight teams that cross House lines, since so many have called for them, are a necessary alternative. If Harvard and Yale show determination in establishing and recognizing such teams, Dartmouth, Brown, and the smaller New England colleges must eventually follow suit. Then the necessary corollaries of a Freshman team and a more complete Varsity schedule would be a fait accompli. In any case the H.A.A. should look to the waning popularity of their most publicized, most remunerative sport, and give a thought to the future of a game that is admittedly "more fun to play than to watch."