As the Mid-West Sees Us

Harvard's break with Princeton, commonly known as Princeton's break with Harvard, is really a blessing in disguise for a lot of downtrodden football teams and coaches who want some excuse to break off relations with a traditional rival that is hard to beat. There are many such schools and coaches that can now find the way, thanks to Harvard.

Since 1916. Harvard has beaten Princeton only once in football. The Crimson began to dread the coming of the game with the Tigers. Year after year they got it in the neck.

And then at last some smart feller on the Lampoon found the way out. He'd make it so unpleasant for Princeton to come up to Cambridge to play football that the Tigers would sever relations of their own accord, avoiding Harvard the embarrassment.

Hence a lot of funny pictures about Princeton men being pigs, even though everybody at Harvard knew they were good forward passers, and Princeton got excited. Princeton waited for Harvard to apologize, and Harvard waited for Princeton to get tired of waiting. Finally Princeton took the hint and just busted up the 'Big Three," saving Harvard's honor and dignity.

The idea is a splendid one and will probably be carried out in all parts of the country next year, thanks to Harvard's initiation of the plan of getting rid of an opponent that is too hard to beat.

If Chicago decides that it is tired of playing Illinois all that will be necessary is for the Chicago monthly magazine to run a couple of pictures of a crowd of Illinois men sleeping with their socks on. Or if Illinois hears that Chicago may have a good team, the Illinois magazine can print pictures of Chicago men smeared with oil.

Suppose that Wisconsin decides it is time to drop Minnesota, all that will be necessary is for the Wisconsin paper to print the jail record of Joesting, Nydahl, Almquist, Hanson and Hyde. Or if the Gophers are getting tired of going to Madison the Gopher publication can print pictures of a flock of Wisconsin men pulling taffy.

The possibilities for spicy humor of a clean nature are almost unlimited and the probability of big circulations for the student magazines is fine. Harvard certainly started something and the intercollegiate world owes a lot to the boys at Cambridge. Dignity is a fine thing in intercollegiate athletics. --Big Ten Weekly