48 PHYSICAL TRAINING 



petitions of this kind were held in four public 

 schools — competitions for the greatest physical 

 improvement during the year, thus giving the 

 best chance to those having the worst physiques, 

 and competitions between schools to find the boy 

 with the best all-round physique. The interest 

 in these contests has been extraordinary from the 

 beginning. Again, when the boys were first meas- 

 ured, they were rated as "First Class," "Second 

 Class," or "Third Class," according to their phys- 

 ical status, and they wore buttons indicating to 

 which "class" they belonged. The third-class 

 boys hated to advertise themselves as being only 

 "third-rate," but they had to wear the buttons 

 so as to be eligible for membership in various 

 recreational and vocational-guidance clubs which 

 were organized for their benefit. So they wore 

 the low-class buttons, but did all in their power 

 to become second-class and even first. 



This system has been most effective in causing 

 the boys to strive for physical perfection. The 

 writer is acquainted with one class of forty boys 

 about to graduate from one of the grammar 

 schools, in which this system is being tried out 

 for the third year. At the beginning this class 

 contained but one first-class boy. Now over 

 half the class is first-class, and all but three of the 

 remainder second-class. 



The winners of the competitions have their 



