Rowing and Track Athletics (extract)

Track Atbletz'cs z'n the Colleges 283 time. A letter which President Buckham of the University of Vermont wrote, in 1875, in reply to a newspaper query, "\i\Thy was Vermont not represented at Saratoga?" illustrates forcibly the point of view of many wise and good men of that day toward the growing cult of athleticism - of many men of to-day, for that matter, who were brought up in the old chool and whose opinion of outdoor sport, and what comes of it, is more a matter of personal prejudice than of knowledge at first hand and personal experience. Thus speaks President Buckham, and the "earnest of the north wind " of old New England is felt in every word:- " You ask why the University of Vermont was not represented at Saratoga. It certainly was not for lack of facilities for training, for we have, as you suggest, a beautiful lake on one side of us and a beautiful river on another side. Neither was it for lack of manliness in our men. The university was ' represented' in almost every great battle of the Rebellion, from Bull Run to Petersburg, having sent to the field a larger num– ber in proportion to its total roll than any other New England college. But the fact is, that neither the character of our community nor the tradition of the college are such as to encourage sporting habits. A large proportion of its stu– dents, large enough to determine the prevail-