The Athletes and Athletic Sports of Scotland

PROFESSIONAL V. AMATEUR ATHLETES. 121 make trips abroad. It is difficult to see how aset of men living on money made byothers can look down on any class ofmen who are self supporting. Any athlete who gives up themental or manual work by which heprofesses to make his living, and is supported by other than his own means whiletraining, or gets his board and lodging and travelling expenses paid for competing at so-called amateur sports, and no money besides, is simply a professional athlete of a very soft kind. Men ofthat class make their livelihood for the time being asathletes, and allow all the profits made out of their performances, after the necessary ex­ penses to be appropriated by the knowing ones who run first- class amateur performances in athletic sports. A Hutchens, a George, a Cannon, a Cummings in running, a Page in leaping, aTait, Dinnie, Davidson, or M'Rae in throwing, a Steadman in wrestling, a champion football or cricket team are simply men who at great pains andexpense have improvedtheir natural en­ dowments tillthey standahead ofall others inthe world for the time being atthe particular feats they have trained themselves for, just as a Patti, a Joachim, or an Irving haveimproved their natural endowments. It is as absurd to say that a champion athlete who takes money for his performances is on a lower plane than one who professes to take none, as it would be to say a Patti, a Joachim, or an Irving arein any way lowered by taking money for their performances. The highera first-class athlete is rewarded and honoured, the more will all exercises that im­ prove us physically as a nation be practised. The professional athletes of ancientGreece, thewinners atthe Olympicand other games, were more highly rewardedand honoured than those of any other nation haveever been; the r sult is seen in the statues of Grecian menand womenof the time, which are still the envy and admiration ofthe civilised world. A few statues faithfully modelled ofa pure bred Londoner or factory workerof the third or fourth generationmight convincethe peopleof Great Britain, that a first-class athlete is doing far more for the goodof the nation than a first-class singer, fiddler, or actor, and oughtto be as well paid and as highly honoured. 8

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