" Whate’Eß men do, or say, or think, or dream, Our paper seizes for its theme.” Such seems to be the motto of our daily newspapers. A recent issue of one of the leading, representative, metropolitan daily newspapers contained in its total eighty-five columns of reading matter a twenty column account of murders, robberies and murder trials, two columns of “pugilistic” talk, and a two column description of a brutal football contest between a college team ami an athletic club team. Is such a paper fit to enter a family circle ?' Decidedly no. To the writer’s mind the reading of such matter would have as bad if not a worse effect upon youths’ mind than the reading of dime novels. But it has been said that the enterprising and successful news paper of to-day furnishes the public with just the kind of news or reading matter it desires. If such is the case the reading matter of an issue of the kind mentioned does not speak well for the good taste of the American public. However, newspapers are run for “revenue only” nowadays,, and a cure for this seemingly “ depraved taste ” must spring from the public’s cry for better literature. But leaving the general solution of this problem to our elders, there is one thing which college students can do and which is their duty to do; that is, change “ public opinion ” about brutality in football and elevate ‘ ‘ public opinion ’ ’ in regard to college athletics in general. Outside of the regular formation of town and city gymnasiums and athletic clubs by the Y. M. C. A. and similar organizations, which do a wonderful lot of good to the youths of our country in themselves, this season has been unusually prolific in the forma' tion of so-called “ athletic clubs ” by the “ sporting element ” in our larger towns and cities. Then, as one step toward a reformation of “public opinion,”' squelch the so-called 11 athletic clubs. ’ ’ They are a menace to all that is good and manly in athletics. Their membership, as a rule, consists mainly of gamblers. They are worthless imitators. They parade before an unsuspecting public as honest champions of the manly cause of athletics, but they lower and degrade the cause which, it is supposed, they espouse, and as the “public is more disposed to censure than praise ” they are doing incalculable dam age to good “ public opinion ” toward college athletics. It is the happy privilege and the duty of all college students to The Free Lance, [November,
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers