1912–13 Volume 37 No 1–5 - Phi Delta Theta Scroll Archive

THE SCROLL 313benefits derived from athletic sports. They do, he says, give useful trainingin self-restraint and in co-ordinated action, and as now conducted they donot interfere with, they probably conduce to, mental development. They mustreally be judged, however, as a preparation for the normal and customarypursuits of later life, and, so viewed, he finds that they injuriously affecthealth and efficiency.In a single year, as examiner for a National Guard regiment, Doctor Brookshad occasion to study the condition of twelve men who had attained distinctionas athletes while in college, and he found that but one of them could berated as physically up to the average of non-athletic graduates of the sameage. And the exceptional man died of acute diabetes in his early thirties!The trouble with college athletics is not direct—not the immediate resultof excessive strains, for the strains are not excessive for muscles properly preparedto meet them. The star player, the record-breaker, would be all rightand live as long and as well as anybody if he were to continue his collegeactivities. But he does not; instead, almost invariably, he enters upon what,in comparison, may be called a sedentary life, and his big muscles, cardiac andother, being no longer sufficiently used, degenerate and become a source ofdanger. As this progresses, not only do they cease to be capable of the oldexertions, but they can no longer perform even those for which muscles thathave never been hypertrophied are competent.The reform which Doctor Brooks proposes is not the abolition of collegeathletics. He thinks that their unquestionably good effects can be retained,and their bad ones eliminated or minimized, by doing away with the specializationwhich makes the star and the record-breaker, and by seeking a moremoderate, all-round, physical development that can be fully utilized by anyactive man in business or the professions.It is interesting to note that, in the men distinguished in college sports,he found the fewest evidences of physical deterioration in those who had wontheir fame in baseball.—New York Times.PYXNews of interesting events, occurring after chapter letters have been forwarded,and as late as the soth or 35th of the month preceding the month of publication, shouldbe forwarded promptly, to appear in this department.Just prior to the Chicago convention a charter was granted by the generalcouncil for an alumni club at Calgary, Alberta. The application, dated October15, 1912, was signed by the following : William Wren Hay, Vermont, '10;Harry A. Sylvester, Union, '06; I. Kendall Kerr, Jr., Minnesota, '05; M. T.Chamberlain, Illinois, '03; Frank L. Magee, Idaho, '09; H. W. Hill, Stanford,'01; H. H. Kerr, Wisconsin, 'ii; W. W. Cary, Ohio Wesleyan, '10; J. G.Balyeat, Washington State, '08; A. R. Landry, McGill, '07; J. H. Evans,Minnesota, '96; S. H. O. Burroughs, Toronto, '10; Alan H. W. Kennedy,McGill, '03; C. Bruce McClelland, Knox, '09; Gage O. Shaum, Nebraska, '06;Granville W. Cecil, Central, '09.* * * *How to secure the largest possible attendance at Founders' Day meetingsand dinners is a problem. The only means are through the mails, telephoneand personal interviews. The best method is by personal interviews, but thetelephone should be used a day or two before the meeting, to remind thosewho have promised to come and to urge those who have not responded. Thedinner should not be ordered until the last possible moment, so that it willnot be ordered for a larger number than will certainly be present. In onecity last year many who were expected did not come, and the member whoordered the dinner had to pay out of his own pocket for a good many platesat $5 a plate. A good many dinners have been failures so far as the attendancewas concerned because the price was fixed too high. If the price is