rather than emotional instability, and I am in favor of the
old athletes of Oxford and Cambridge up in the air today in
the R.A.F., as against those moles under the ground in Eng-
land that are trying to tear down the motherland.

Now, to get down to more absolutely specific things. Both
Mr. McMillin and Professor Owens have spoken of the
broader athletic program. I will not be satisfied with what
we are doing in the national defense side of this program
until every boy in every institution is in some sort of organ-
ized team play, and I mean by that not filling the intramural
teams alone but getting more candidates for intercollegiate
teams. I think there is only one way of doing that, and that
is to eliminate the distinction between major and minor
sports in the college program. Any boy who goes out for any
team gives it the best he has, if he is a real sport, and for
that reason it is a major sport to him. England has done
away with class distinctions under the bombs and under the
flares, and we ought to do away with class distinctions in
athletics. We ought to see that the tribute is paid to any
boy who makes his letter, no matter what the sport is, be-
cause that will bring more boys out for our organized teams.

In the second place, I think any director of athletics ought
to have more pride in bringing one boy who is a victim of,
let’s say, infantile paralysis back to strength than in direct-
ing a dozen super-athletes. As has already been suggested,
we need more men with strong physiques.

As Director of Selective Service for Pennsylvania I am
much concerned to observe the number of young men who
are being turned back to deferred classification for physical
reasons. I realize that a good many of them are turned back
for minor faults—a few teeth lacking, or something of that
kind, or because the regulations haven’t been brought up to
date—but when you find out the amount of tuberculosis, the
amount of social disease, the results of alcoholism and drug
addiction, eye-strain, malnutrition and a dozen other things,
you and I—who think that America is strong and virile—
must pause and think what our part is to be in this thing.

My answer, gentlemen, is that the college athletic organ-
ization has to go off the campus tomorrow and serve the
community. There are over 16,000,000 young men between
the ages of twenty-one and thirty-six who were registered
last fall on the 16th of October. Out of those, if we don’t
get in the war, at least 4,500,000 are going to be called to
the colors, but they are going to be called in small incre-
ments. We can cut down the number placed in the deferred
classes, if every college and university in the United States,
if every Y.M.C.A. and Y.M.H.A., if every Boy Scout organ-
ization that have gymnasiums, throw open their doors to reg-

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