Page:The spirit of the leader (IA spiritofleader00heyl).pdf/238

 be said again that Northfield was blind to its chance.

It will cost, it is estimated, about $25,000 for an athletic field. Is this too much? It all depends upon what the town will get for its $25,000. A sick man is usually willing to give all his money to regain his health. Doctors say that it is cheaper to stay well than to spend money for cures. Northfield speaks of that field as an athletic field, but it would be better, perhaps, to call it a "health field."

The old Greeks had a saying, "A sound mind in a sound body." The provides a mental training field, but a basement gym is a poor body builder. Exercise should be taken in the open air. When it is taken on a school field it becomes as much a part of a school duty as study. Health marks are as important as examination marks.

Why did the Greeks insist upon a sound mind in a sound body? For the same reason that one would not store precious oil in a cracked bottle. The crack would allow the oil to leak away, and a weak body is a crack through which energy is lost. The best brains have usually gone with rugged bodies.

Northfield doesn't ask $25,000 merely for an athletic field. It asks for an athletic field plus—and the plus is health.

"That," Bristow said confidently, "is something that ought to strike home."

Praska was sure that it would bring results.