the same vigilant and loyal co-operation of clubs and county committees, which has been accorded them in the past, be continued in the future; and if no false sentimentality be allowed to interfere with the rigour of sentences passed on offenders, which should be fearlessly inflicted and with in- creasing severity, then their ultimate success is assured and professionalism is doomed.
The task before them would, however, be rendered immeasurably lighter if public opinion declared itself unanimously on their side. Professionalism would then, I believe, be an impossibility. I wish, therefore, that every one who has the well-being of the game at heart, would set himself to work out the problem of professionalism, and would consider the effect of its admission on the Rugby game. The deductions to be derived from statistics and history are, to my mind, so plain and so palpable, that none can fail to be convinced of their cogency.
The first question that naturally occurs to one on the threshold of an inquiry into professionalism is, How did there ever come to be such an institution as professionals in any branch of sport? It seems an anomaly that in sport, the true conception of which is a pastime as distinguished from a profession, one should find men engaged in order to earn a livelihood.
I venture to suggest that the anomaly is thus explained. The very essence of athletic sport is the rivalry it engenders. Rivalry in its turn begets a desire for excellence, and excellence in any art mainly depends on the amount of time devoted to the pursuit of it. As the art develops, so the standard of excellence is being continually raised, until at length we reach a perfection which can only be attained by those who devote their whole time and energies to its cultivation. This at last means the devotion of a life; and
