UMIYRRSITY OF ORFOON MONTHLY
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Rugby Football
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J¿ ? ^ jt7 m a y seem presum ptuous for an undergraduate to engage in
discussion with the distinguished presidente? pR a great; university,
but the impertinence pf the act S moderated/'tei- a 'certain -degree j
when the latter’s discussion desçends ^ | t h e rudiments* of fOQtbdpV^
Therefore, i¿>is but .natural that? W e s W n t J o rd a n ^ A ttack, upon
American football should receive vocifçrbtis rebuttal from plaÿérs
and enthusiasts ©Ethe game.'
In his article, entitled: ^Ewot-ball-’. Battle or Sport? the Presi
dent W ’ ^tanford compares the American gim e w ith Rugby ; and by
’Systematic p ro c e ss^ 'p f induction and deduction'leaves' little doubt,
in the minds of readers but; th at oùr' game is a 'battle and should
be prohibited, while .Rugby is a delightful sport and should supplant
th e A m erican game in all the Colleges -p f'th e country.v President
-Jprdan has listed almost every criticism e've| .made . against the
American game, mosÍAoh ;which have been Jpliminàted ' by the neWj-
rules th a t haye-never beefy tried at Stanford. He also 'uses th e :
four great objections of-President E lliott in 1905 when „that gentle-
man~was advocating more ‘open play. The objections were -
The immoderate d e s i r e ^ win intercollegiate g a m e s; (2) The fre
quent Collision^ in massés, which ma^M feul play invisible
The
profit from violation of the r u l e s . ^ ) The misleading assimilation
of the game to w ar as regards i0'- strategy and its ethics.” T o these
President Jordan adds th a t the game is “totally ' unfit” for prepara-
toryj schools. H é deplores the publicity given the g a in e s,'and as-
;sè rts th at w ithout-it, and w ithout “hosts?’ the A m erican.gam e, wohid
be ñ o moré. H e states th at by our game the sole idea is victory, and
th a t this^conditibn leads’ to hostility ' betw ee^f Collfej^fe l
adds
th a t interference ruins the sport for th e spectator, and asserts th a t
m ass plays' are still the feature ;b f the- American “battle,” thus
justifying his quotation from Dr. E lliott’S attack on thé b id “five-
yard game.” | P resid en t'Jo rd an ate©-States th a t the num ber of in
juries is frightful.
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In building up his argum ent on the side of R u gbys err the
“ Sport”, Dr. Jordan fails to note the g g | | th a t the* m ajority of
attacks upon the American game ap ply'partly, if not wholly, to the
English. Rugby, R e w rite s; is-a game “involving adroitness' and
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