“Speaking of beginning at the bottom, Mr. Ames,” said Hansel. “I was talking to Folsom the other day, and he said he thought the trouble was with the colleges; that they weren’t strict, and that the schools naturally copied their methods.”
“There’s something in that,” answered the instructor, “but not a great deal. I don’t think the college’s example influences the school very much. What does harm, however, is the frantic hunt for material at the school on the part of the college captain, or coach, or trainer. That’s something that ought to be stopped. The competition becomes so keen when a good athlete is at stake that if the good athlete has a tendency toward crookedness he can get most anything he wants. I don’t mean that he can command a salary, but he can secure the equivalent in scholarships, or employment at wages out of all proportion to the services.”
“That’s so,” said Phin. “And I think there must be more in Harry’s theory of example than you think. Aren’t we doing just about the same thing for Cameron?”
“Well, that’s a fact, but I’m not willing to lay the blame on the colleges,” answered Mr. Ames. “The incongruous feature of it is,” he continued, “that the fellows who connive at such things are usually fellows who would spurn the suggestion of a dishonest action. It’s a case of distorted point of view, I fancy. Now, as I say, I can’t take the law into my hands and disqualify Cameron on the grounds we’ve discussed, but if you can work school opinion around so that there will be a demand for his removal, I’ll do my part. I’d hate to have to hurt Cameron, but I wouldn’t let personal liking or team success interfere.”
“I’m afraid school opinion can’t be altered in a moment,” said Phin.
“Perhaps not, but why not ask a few of the most prominent and influential fellows to meet some evening, put the case before them and see what they think about it? If there was sufficient support pledged, you might call a mass meeting to take action on the subject; even if you lost, you would have made a stride in the right direction; the more you make the fellows think about the question the nearer you must be to your goal, for any fellow who considers the thing fairly will have to acknowledge that it’s all wrong.”
“Thank you, sir,” said Phin. “That seems a good idea. Would you attend the first meeting?”
Mr. Ames hesitated.
“It may look to you like cowardice, Dorr,” he said finally, “but I’d rather not. It seems to me that I ought to preserve neutrality as far as is possible. Besides, I don’t think it would be wise to bring the faculty element into such a meeting; you fellows could do more on your own initiative.”