THE CRAZE FOR ATHLETICS.
Dear . sir.—lt is rather distrossiiK to fiiul a member of Parliament urine; pintform oratory to oppose, or rather set aside, a warning from an older and nhlor | man, while at heart he must have ieA the truth of the elderly gentleman s statements. I rrfer, of course, "iO Mr. A. de B. Brandon's motion at annual meeting of the Wellington Old Boys Association, in which he pointed on'u the error of over-training a few athk-.es whjl° tho largo majority wore noglcctcd. Mr. W. K. I). Bell, M.P., in spfakins against it, refers to our communi'ty. in which everyone does a great deal of work. Do we? A visit to the places of morning tea, afternoon tea, picture < shows, and racecourses would leavo his staitement open to doubt. ■ ~ . ... He continues, "Nor did he tlnnk that while the champions were being selected , that 'the 'ruck' was neglected. . • . No. the "ruck" is rather a necessary attribute to tho champions nowadays, and tho associations know it. They (these lookers-on) arc well catered for with special trains and car 9. They pay their shillings, make their bets, smoke cigarettes, and consider themselves verv good "spouts," and Mr. W. H. BeU knows they are moro useful to "snort" in their present capacity than in., playing a came in which they nover. will becomc champions." Then ho quotes?, "Waterloo was not won in tho schools, but in the playing fields," One might well reply. *'Aijni mulatur «t nos nmtaniur cum iillKs."' < Newly a hundred years ago* when associations were not, and men played a gamo for the bake of tho earno itself, not for 'tho pseuds
benefit of tho lookers-on, England won n._ battle by tho brute strength and cunning of Itho playing field, but the modern Waterloo will bo.won in tho schools alone—i£ won nt all.—l am, etc., R.F.J.
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Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1705, 24 March 1913, Page 5
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307THE CRAZE FOR ATHLETICS. Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1705, 24 March 1913, Page 5
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