| Show f J 1 l Ministers Versus Football i I IThe The sudden spasm of alleged godliness which struck several of Salt Lakes Lake's reverend gentlemen two days before Thanksgiving filling them with the idea that the last Thursday in in November should be he given up to listening to their rehash had an effect which the ministers evidently did not foresee The American Ameri Ameri- can people and especially those of the West will will no not permit dictation that seeks to curtail personal liberty and so people who had no in intention ten tion whatever of going to the football games before the adoption of the ministers minister's II resolution gave up all thoughts of morning church service and afternoon turkey and tramped through mud ankle deep from one end of Salt Lake to the other to see all the football there was to be seen and returned home after the last game with sighs of regret that it it was the last In Inconsequence Inconsequence Inconsequence consequence all games were well attended at attended attended at at- tended and the various associations participating reaped a good harvest of coin of th the realm N Now ow I want to ask these good gentlemen gentle gentle- men if they can mention any better way of spending Thanksgiving day than in education and improvement If they insist that the best way to accomplish this end is to doze on a back seat in church while they expound scripture I will suggest that we have the opportunity opportunity of doing that fifty two fifty two times a year at least while the opportunity to educate ourselves physically without which there can be no usef useful ment mental l education comes not so often by any means They may launch out in a aviol viol violent nt tirade against football as so so many 90 do forgetting that they are nc t using argument t against football but the abuse of it A man can be a football player and still be a gentleman in fact football more than any other sport shows i J whether a player is a gentleman or not The world is is' full of hypocrites some preachers not excepted and thousands of men profess to be gentlemen appear in society as such and are acknowledged to be what they seem who would betray f. f their real nature if playing football before before ber be be- r fore the game had been in progress five fiver r minutes f Football develops more good qualities b bf t f in a man is IS better exercise exerCIse and cultIvates cultivates cultivates vates alertness quickness of thought and action better than any game or sport now in existence Everyone requires a certain length of time before his muscles can obe obey the impulse which causes them to act and the man in whom this time is reduced to a minimum is the coolheaded coolheaded coolheaded cool- cool headed self-possessed self man the man whom we say has II presence presence of mind One essential of a good football player is that this personal equation be as nearly imperceptible as it can be in man A little manly exercise on the gridiron will develop this quality an eternity J spent spent in in a church pew will not F After doing all i in their power to prevent prevent prevent pre pre- vent a few lew stal stalwart art art young men from engaging in healthful exercise these consistent gentlemen of the cloth with clear consciences sent out invitations for receptions to be held at their several homes on the evening of this holy day made so by President Cleveland and after spending the morning hours in pointing out to the few sinners who had missed the car for the football game the way to God went home and gorged themselves ves with turkey cranberry sauce plum pudding and all the etceteras of the Thanksgiving dinner washed down no doubt with gulps of good old port or sparkling champagne Whatever else may nay be said of the Salt Lake minister as an advertising medium his football anti-football resolution is a huge success 1 C. C Haslett Haslell f |
