- Email: [email protected]
THE ATHLETIC LIFE.
1084 and that the new intake would be brought into use at some time in June, and the matter was reported by us accordingly in THE LANCET of April 8th. When the deferred date arrived it was found that the tunnel, though complete, could not be made use of, for fear of fouling the water, until such time as arrangements could be made to dispense for two or three days with any supply whatThat could not be done during ,ever from this source. the Exhibition season, and consequently Jackson Park and the district which adjoins it have been kept supplied ’throughout the season from this condemned source of water-
- supply.
accepted- namely, from the eighteenth to the thirty-sixth year ; but it should be understood that he meant by this the true athletic existence, in which really active contests can be carried on. Contests of a serious kind should not be attempted until the body approaches maturity and should not be continued after the time when the body comes near to middle A point was raised whether every person can be age. transformed, under any trainer or under any system of training, into a veritable athlete-that is to say, into one It was admitted who can properly enter into a contest. at the end of the discourse that a physically uncultivated nation might have its strength easily doubled by the introduction of a sound system of athleticism ; but it was contended that amongst the members of communities there were always a number who although benefited by physical exercises could never become athletes and who ought never to attempt to reach the position. A distinction was thus raised as between common physical exercise and the trained exercise intended for the purposes of competition. A speaker, Mr. Mathews, in moving a vote of thanks to the lecturer, explained that he, a Swiss mountain climber, kept up his climbing feats although he was sixty years of age-viz., twenty-four years of age beyond the period that had been specified ; but that is not athleticism was the reply, it is common exercise that requires no trainer, and although it is risky it does not come into the sphere of the athletic life. Here is a question that opens up a wide field of controversy amongst those who have made athletic pursuits a part of their practical studies. Is there a line of demarcation between athletic exercise and systematic common exercise ? The answer, we presume, will be that there is such a line of demarcation and that the term "atbleticism" is only applicable to pursuits where competition comes into play and where, perhaps, a course of training is required for success. This evidently was Sir Benjamin Richardson’s view, and he mentioned-as the qualities to be developed by such training-precision, decision, These qualities are of presence of mind, and endurance. a mixed sort, being partly physical and partly mental, but their inter-relation is very intimate, and it is easy to see that their joint employment must result in the perfection of athletic prowess, in whatever department of athleticism they are displayed. At the same time the four qualities had not, in the lecturer’s eye, an equal value ; mental endurance, the other qualifications being in fair condition, stood first. A comparatively feeble development of body could be made effective by mental endurance, and some most important physical difficulties could be overcome by strength and endurance of will aiding and sustaining endurance of a physical kind. Several striking examples were supplied in which mental endurance carried the day, and it was shown that pure physical accomplishment, great as it might be, was of little avail when not backed up by the strength of the natural and commanding mind. In other words, mere strong savagery could not make either a nation or a man physically great ; there must be that inborn
It is pleasant to turn to another aspect of the case, in which much larger measure of success has attended upon the .arrangements made for the accommodation of visitors to the lYorld’s Fair. Our correspondent writes : "It was feared, prior to the opening of the Exhibition, that the housing accommodation of the city would prove to be altogether inadequate to cope with the enormous influx of visitors that the manageThe contrary has proved to be the case. ment expected. During the past three weeks enormous crowds have been wisiting the Exhibition, and the most zealous devotees have at length seen their dreams realised. The number -of admissions is increasing steadily. Over two hundred ’thousand persons pay their way into the Fair daily. If to this number are added the fifty odd thousand officials .and employes who pass in without paying, a total of two ’hundred and fifty thousand is reached. The number does not include the many thousands who came to Chicago before the opening of the Fair and opened up stores and >:shops of all kinds in the vicinity of the Exhibition. All these persons have been housed without difficulty, some in the centre of the city, in the large hotels and fashionable boarding-houses, others in the many hotels of all kinds around the Exhibition, and still others in the suburbs south and west of the Exhibition, within a quarter of an hour’s distance of it. In fact, there are thousands of rooms at the present time ,of writing vacant, not because any excessive prices are ,demanded, but simply because preparations were made six months ago on far too large a scale. Rooms are procurable -at normal charges, and one hears no more complaint on this score. Many first-class hotels are in the hands of receivers, - some being even closed down completely, notwithstanding the fact that the daily attendance at the Fair is maintained at a very high average and compares most favourably with the attendance at other Exhibitions. What is said of the -hotels may also be applied to the boarding-houses and other places where rooms are rented. Rooms are procurable at as low a rate as fifty cents per night in respectable houses, and .a, very keen competition exists all over the city in the endeavour to attract visitors." Here we are able unreservedly to admire both the characteristic enterprise of the people of Chicago and the magnificent We regret to learn that the demand resources of their city. for accommodation has been upon a scale not altogether -commensurate with the provision made, but that, at least from our point of view, affords no ground for complaint. As faculty or quality which, though not measurable, nor to compared with other international Exhibitions, this one be weighed, nor in substance visible, becomes in action - of Chicago will probably be distinguished in the recol- the essential virtue, the power that wins : the same virtue ’lection of most of its visitors more than anything else for that sustains the orator, the writer, and the discoverer, the magnificent expanse which it has occupied, giving a and that belongs in the highest degree to the highest ,delightful sense of "elbow room." Enormous buildings of civilisation. In dealing with what may be termed the moral side of fine proportions and a magnificent expanse of park intersected athleticism Sir B Richardson quoted at length an annotatioon of the ramifications an lakelet, together by admirably designed with the near neighbourhood of Michigan itself, have com- in THE LANCET of Oct. 14th on the degradation of athletics. bined to give to this Exhibition an airy, breezy character, He supported strongly our view that if sport is turned into a means of gaining a livelihood the good old English com- even in the height of an American summer, than which petition will quickly degenerate and sport will become a nothing could have been more delicious and which it would mere cover to a number of false practices, instead of being be idle to expect elsewhere. a wholesome and generous recreation. In a further passage he pointed out the danger of introducing gambling into athletic competitions, insisting that the moral evils introduced by that mischievous practice would destroy THE ATHLETIC LIFE. all good that could possibly arise from laudable com.a,
petition. THE winter session of the Athletic Association of Birming’ham was opened on Thursday, the 19th inst., with an address by Sir Benjamin W. Richardson. The subject chosen was "The Athletic Life." The lecturer limited the period of the athletic career to a shorter course than is generally 1
That
is, prior to Sept. 25th last.
It is satisfactory to find that so many of the medical practitioners of Birmingham are taking a lively interest in the development of athleticism in their city. Birmingham is one of the cities that must be essentially benefited by the
of science directed to the advancement of the the tone imparted by the courses of health lectures on the subject which are to follow in the gymnasium will, we feel sure, be a most practical addition to the athletic spirit. labours of
men
general health ; and
- supply.
accepted- namely, from the eighteenth to the thirty-sixth year ; but it should be understood that he meant by this the true athletic existence, in which really active contests can be carried on. Contests of a serious kind should not be attempted until the body approaches maturity and should not be continued after the time when the body comes near to middle A point was raised whether every person can be age. transformed, under any trainer or under any system of training, into a veritable athlete-that is to say, into one It was admitted who can properly enter into a contest. at the end of the discourse that a physically uncultivated nation might have its strength easily doubled by the introduction of a sound system of athleticism ; but it was contended that amongst the members of communities there were always a number who although benefited by physical exercises could never become athletes and who ought never to attempt to reach the position. A distinction was thus raised as between common physical exercise and the trained exercise intended for the purposes of competition. A speaker, Mr. Mathews, in moving a vote of thanks to the lecturer, explained that he, a Swiss mountain climber, kept up his climbing feats although he was sixty years of age-viz., twenty-four years of age beyond the period that had been specified ; but that is not athleticism was the reply, it is common exercise that requires no trainer, and although it is risky it does not come into the sphere of the athletic life. Here is a question that opens up a wide field of controversy amongst those who have made athletic pursuits a part of their practical studies. Is there a line of demarcation between athletic exercise and systematic common exercise ? The answer, we presume, will be that there is such a line of demarcation and that the term "atbleticism" is only applicable to pursuits where competition comes into play and where, perhaps, a course of training is required for success. This evidently was Sir Benjamin Richardson’s view, and he mentioned-as the qualities to be developed by such training-precision, decision, These qualities are of presence of mind, and endurance. a mixed sort, being partly physical and partly mental, but their inter-relation is very intimate, and it is easy to see that their joint employment must result in the perfection of athletic prowess, in whatever department of athleticism they are displayed. At the same time the four qualities had not, in the lecturer’s eye, an equal value ; mental endurance, the other qualifications being in fair condition, stood first. A comparatively feeble development of body could be made effective by mental endurance, and some most important physical difficulties could be overcome by strength and endurance of will aiding and sustaining endurance of a physical kind. Several striking examples were supplied in which mental endurance carried the day, and it was shown that pure physical accomplishment, great as it might be, was of little avail when not backed up by the strength of the natural and commanding mind. In other words, mere strong savagery could not make either a nation or a man physically great ; there must be that inborn
It is pleasant to turn to another aspect of the case, in which much larger measure of success has attended upon the .arrangements made for the accommodation of visitors to the lYorld’s Fair. Our correspondent writes : "It was feared, prior to the opening of the Exhibition, that the housing accommodation of the city would prove to be altogether inadequate to cope with the enormous influx of visitors that the manageThe contrary has proved to be the case. ment expected. During the past three weeks enormous crowds have been wisiting the Exhibition, and the most zealous devotees have at length seen their dreams realised. The number -of admissions is increasing steadily. Over two hundred ’thousand persons pay their way into the Fair daily. If to this number are added the fifty odd thousand officials .and employes who pass in without paying, a total of two ’hundred and fifty thousand is reached. The number does not include the many thousands who came to Chicago before the opening of the Fair and opened up stores and >:shops of all kinds in the vicinity of the Exhibition. All these persons have been housed without difficulty, some in the centre of the city, in the large hotels and fashionable boarding-houses, others in the many hotels of all kinds around the Exhibition, and still others in the suburbs south and west of the Exhibition, within a quarter of an hour’s distance of it. In fact, there are thousands of rooms at the present time ,of writing vacant, not because any excessive prices are ,demanded, but simply because preparations were made six months ago on far too large a scale. Rooms are procurable -at normal charges, and one hears no more complaint on this score. Many first-class hotels are in the hands of receivers, - some being even closed down completely, notwithstanding the fact that the daily attendance at the Fair is maintained at a very high average and compares most favourably with the attendance at other Exhibitions. What is said of the -hotels may also be applied to the boarding-houses and other places where rooms are rented. Rooms are procurable at as low a rate as fifty cents per night in respectable houses, and .a, very keen competition exists all over the city in the endeavour to attract visitors." Here we are able unreservedly to admire both the characteristic enterprise of the people of Chicago and the magnificent We regret to learn that the demand resources of their city. for accommodation has been upon a scale not altogether -commensurate with the provision made, but that, at least from our point of view, affords no ground for complaint. As faculty or quality which, though not measurable, nor to compared with other international Exhibitions, this one be weighed, nor in substance visible, becomes in action - of Chicago will probably be distinguished in the recol- the essential virtue, the power that wins : the same virtue ’lection of most of its visitors more than anything else for that sustains the orator, the writer, and the discoverer, the magnificent expanse which it has occupied, giving a and that belongs in the highest degree to the highest ,delightful sense of "elbow room." Enormous buildings of civilisation. In dealing with what may be termed the moral side of fine proportions and a magnificent expanse of park intersected athleticism Sir B Richardson quoted at length an annotatioon of the ramifications an lakelet, together by admirably designed with the near neighbourhood of Michigan itself, have com- in THE LANCET of Oct. 14th on the degradation of athletics. bined to give to this Exhibition an airy, breezy character, He supported strongly our view that if sport is turned into a means of gaining a livelihood the good old English com- even in the height of an American summer, than which petition will quickly degenerate and sport will become a nothing could have been more delicious and which it would mere cover to a number of false practices, instead of being be idle to expect elsewhere. a wholesome and generous recreation. In a further passage he pointed out the danger of introducing gambling into athletic competitions, insisting that the moral evils introduced by that mischievous practice would destroy THE ATHLETIC LIFE. all good that could possibly arise from laudable com.a,
petition. THE winter session of the Athletic Association of Birming’ham was opened on Thursday, the 19th inst., with an address by Sir Benjamin W. Richardson. The subject chosen was "The Athletic Life." The lecturer limited the period of the athletic career to a shorter course than is generally 1
That
is, prior to Sept. 25th last.
It is satisfactory to find that so many of the medical practitioners of Birmingham are taking a lively interest in the development of athleticism in their city. Birmingham is one of the cities that must be essentially benefited by the
of science directed to the advancement of the the tone imparted by the courses of health lectures on the subject which are to follow in the gymnasium will, we feel sure, be a most practical addition to the athletic spirit. labours of
men
general health ; and