The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1919. A NATIONAL FAILING.

Taihape Daily Times, 14 October 1919, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1919. A NATIONAL FAILING.

With which is incorporated “The Taihape Post: and Waimarino . News.”

The encouragement of health and physical development should be p-a.ra—-mount in modern society; no section of the people should be left without such encouragement as would lead to the strength and physical powers that mankind is capable of being developed to their utmost limit. Not even the submerged tenth should be left to become a. menace by inter-marriage to the strength of the nation and Empire, The ancient Greeks, who are famed for their perfect .m~a.nhood, feats of agility, strength and endurance, gave athletics a place next to their gods; it has studied as a branch of ‘Greek art, for, e.oming into vision from the unehronicled days -of far-away pantheism, is the intelligence th.at the Greeks had developed systems and rules- of -dieting and exercise. Bodily strength, activity, agility, and endurance were highly honoured in those days, and held, from the first recorded Olympiad, .2. very high place in social life. There is a tendency, in civilised nations to again realise that it is worth while, tomake the most A «of man ’s physical endowments. The war has , demonstrated that no raceof people can do without making the most of_ its man-power. The training given to" recruits before permitting them to enter the fighting line is to undo the . mischief and det_eriol'ation that the neglect -of gymnasticsiis responsible for. The fact that the Prussia.ns had cultivated gymnastics. for about a century was rudely brought home to our soldiers in ‘the war, for the finest regiments, so far as bravery, endurance, and fighting power goes, were the Prussian Guards, the men who “had distinguished themselves in the Prussian gymnasia, under the most famous Prussian gymnastic pedagogues. When people speak disparagingly of the little army of Sweden, they do so in ignorance of the fact that Swedish people have progressed on a parallel with Prussia in the study and culture of gymnastics. History is full of records of victory in war almost invariably resting with the best-trained in gymnastic exercises, which included running, leaping, dancing, wrestling, boxing, hurling, and others; but it wlil be recognised and admitted how important it is that the soldier who is to save his race from the aggressor should be'expert in all these exercises. N-ot least amongst the peoples of the world ‘today in athletics are the Jaapanese, who, having modelled their army on precise Prussian lines, regard the gymnasia as of the most 'ilnporta.nce in the process of soldier-making. The Japanese jiu jitsu fern’. o-f wrestling is widely known, though not widely practised, but few -attach that serious aspect to it it should have from a western_ nation point of view. There is no surer indi--cation that the yellow—sl:inned eastern peoples arer,preparing for a trial of strength with the western peoples than the popular, well-used gymnasia which now exists all over Japan, and are rapidly being established in Korea, and everywhere the Japanese have many controlling influence. Going back to the prehistoric days when ‘the Greeks held their grand national‘ festivals every fifth year. in honour of Zeus,‘ the father of gods, on the plain of Olympia, right down through the successful gymIlarsltic period of Roman‘ history, to the present day, it is indisputable that the study and practice of gymnastics is essential to’ the peoples who are to remain, in the van of nations. Athletics were going out of fashion when the glory and splendour of Rome commenced to fade, and it was in that (1083dcncy, and neglect of physical culture that the palm for agility and physical prowess passed to Arabs, whose nomadic life rendered horsexnanship rand quickness of movement essential. It was while western peoples had forsaken the gymnasia that the Moslems overran Southern Europe. With the growth of European armies, however, came back the recdgnition ‘of the serious‘ need for physical development. and just as that development has progressed, so have the Moslerns been compelled to return to Asia; They had settled down in t‘oWns, and forsaken. that nomadic condition whicli made physical exercise a necessity of life, and they rapidly deteriorated. We have been impressed Wit}? fife ‘improved "app,ea.ranc,e -arid boaring_ of our own young men who have undergone only a few months of

tl'«aillillg‘ in uanxp, and yet. we do not

seem to fully realise that. encouragement -of -voluntary training in gymnasia is one of the most desirable purposes our ha.nds and help could be put to. Our Government has come to some sort of realisation that physical culture is something that the nation cannot overlook, but it took the misguided form of trying to establish huge camps, in which young men wereto be caged for four months o_f the year. History will furnish the information about the subject on which may safely be based /the culture that is essential for the future. The gyninasia need. to be brought to our towns, in the midst of our 'homes, where they are available at all times,_:and if Government would spend ‘a fraction of the money in subsidising gymnasia throughout the land it Would accomplish more than by the camp methods that were proposed. The Greek gymnasia. were largely under the care of the priests_. and physical culture, music, and religion ran practically hand in hand for thousands, of years in the world’s most interesting history, why should they have become separated today? There is no denial of the fact. that if the British and other «western nations are to remain immune from another successful invasion by eastern peoples, physical, mental, and moral or religious culture must again be united, and must be practised. together to a degree not known in our day outside the frontiers of Prussia. As in Prussia. and in Ancient Rome. and Greece, the State will have to ‘realise its inherent duty in seeing that every individual unit is developed to the exercise ot‘ the greatest amount of the high. est quality of the physical and mental power his nature is capable of. \Vhile the State has been brought to a sense of the need of mental education in fighting trade nfiars, it has not yet seen the vital importance of -developing that system of physical education that can prevent our race of educated traders froin falling into slavery under the superior physical culture of eastern nations. We are addressing-our remarks chiefly tr; those Taihape people who have endeavoured to put athletics on the footing in 'l‘aihape that it is at present possible. We invite every farmer and business man to support the movement, because physical training is just as essential as any other training in keeping up the Empire’s birt'hra.te, and that standard of physical perfection which so largely ensures a ready army of virile, strong, active, healthy men whenever the Empire may be threatened. We trust that malnby—pa.rnbily disposed people will rather encourage the development of physical strength than discourage it, as many have done in the past. The Almighty gave nran ‘physical faculties as. well as religious and mental faculties, without "them man would have been an easy prey to all creation; why leave them uncared for? Why have pre-sent-day priests tended to relinquishment, if not discouragement, of that physical training that priests of old cultivated side by side, and in con-junction-with religious; and mental training. In the heroic’ ages Hercules was the ideal of human perfection; though legendary, he was the development of the greatest physical strength, combined with every high. quality of mind and charac"t'er conceived of in these ancient times. Has physical and mental perfection become less desirable in modern times, that the State can afford -to east aside all respo=nsibili!‘y for physical development? Much is said about decadency, an-d let it be well understood that in whatever country there is a. falling birthrate there is assuredly national decadency. Let the State pick up the long-dropped thread of physical training in earnest, then it Will not find half its manhood physical unfits, as Britain did when it sought men to stem the German menace. and the "Cl€Clild.CllCy visualised in r.-apiidly diminishing birth-rates in many cpuntries will soon disappear. The Taihape Athletic Club is on the pathway to better things. and we hope to see it so persistent that it will force a way on to £1 bl'o‘cld highway that will lend to the State having its true functi-ens inforced upon the notice of Parliament.