Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, September 28, 1908, Page 4, Image 4

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    THE MORNING OREGOXIAX. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, I90S.
SOCCER K HOLD
APATHY
TOWARD
OREGON NATIONAL GUARD TEAM MAKES ENVIABLE RECORD .
IN THE NATIONAL RIFLE COMPETITION AT CAMP PERRY, OHIO
SHOW PUZZLES
Association Game's Adher
ents Spreading in America.
r
Poor Support Given Pacific
National Meet Problem
Faced by Club.
IT HAS MANY GOOD POINTS
Play More Open and More Interest
ing to Spectators English Critic
Dislikes American Game He
Likens It to Rugby.
CITY INJURED BY RECORD
I With Attendance Only Factor Lack
; ing tor Complete Success, Dlrect
! ors Will Renew Effort for
Next Year's Exhibition.
f BT B. W. WBIOHI
V Something more than 20 years ago I
.attended a race meeting at City View
Park. It was before the running horse
and Its retinue of tout and gambler had
"I begun to demoralize horseraclrg In the
j Northwest, and the affair was a breeders'
' meeting, held for the purpose of 'calling
" attention to the merits of the various
(families of horses then coming into Ore
gon. Van De Laehmutt was there with a
'. big stable of Hambletonlans. and Jay
Beach's string was hesded by Old Alta-
mont. not then famous as the founder of
' a family. The late Thomaa Tongue, to
- whom the stock Industry of Oregon still
owes a debt of gratitude, had several
horses at the track, and there were a
number of other prominent breeders
. whose names I do not now recall. The
I purses averaged about $250. and the time
made was between 2:30 and 250.
To reach the track, steamboats' and
barges left the foot of Yamhill street at
irregular Intervals, and with good luck
attending, the visitor could reach the
' grounds in about an hour after leaving
Portland. The Southern Pacitlc on special
vlaya ran a train from East Portland, but
' the trip across the Stark-street ferry and
the walk after leaving the train consumed
so much time that the barge and steam
; boat route was the favorite, after all of
- the available wagons and hacks In the
city had b?en utilized. It was a rickety old
shark of a grandstand at City view, witn
- no bleachers worth mentioning, and 100
bead of horses would have been a record
breaking exhibit. Portland was a small
- city in those days, but enough interest
; was taken in the race meeting to bring
out an attendance that ran up' above
Xi0 people. t
Great Setting for Track.
The rac?s out at the Pacific National
Show last week reminded me of those old
days for they were so different. The Ut-
' tie. old. half-mile track, with Its fringe ot
fir forest, is only a memory, but it has
been succeeded by a magnificent course,
which in the natural beauty of Its set
. tings, to unequaled anywhere In the world.
while for speed It has shown a record that
. has never been approached by the time
- made on any new track on the grand cir
cuit. Rising above this natural amphi
theater in which the track is laid out is
a splendid steel frame grandstand, which,
with the comfortable bleachers, can seat
more than 10.000 people. The view of the
. "rise" Is perfect, and above and beyond
the track for miles In nearly every direc
tion there is spread out a great natural
panorama of wondrous beauty. Across the
track are many acres of stables. In the
stalls of which there were housed last
; week more than 20C0 of the best-bred ani
mals in the United States.
"I feel as though 1 could remain here
' forever and study this beautiful picture
and listen to the music." remarked an
Eastern lady, who lingered In the grand
stand until after the last race was fin
ished and the evening shadows - were
purpling the hillsides. The Eastern lady
reflected the sentiment of hundreds of
other out-of-town visitors, many of whom
cared little for the races, or even for the
stock exhibit. There were hundreds of
others who expressed themselves as well
repaid for the visit by the spectacle of
a single race or heat made In record time,
while still other hundreds, on whom the
scenic effects, and even the racing, made
no Impression, announced on viewing the
livestock show that It was worth 10 times
' the price of admission to anyone who had
the slightest Interest In the industry.
r Equaled la West.
This wonderful show, viewed either
from the individual standard of Its special
features or as one complete exhibition,
has never been equaled west of the Mis
sissippi River. It's scenic beauty never
can be equaled elsewhere. The population
. or Portland Is 10 times as great as it was
back In the early 'SOs, when the breeders
held their meetlnea at t'ltv Viw tr-nolr
and drew an attendance of more than 4000,
but in no single day during that perfect
September week which closed last Satur
day, did Portland alone supply as many
paid admissions as were enjoyed by the
old City View meetings.
If the directors of the Pacific National
Show were to offer a prize, equaling in
value one of their big racing pursos,
for the best reason for the frigid recep
tion which the people of Portland ac
corded the big show, it is extremely
doubtful If there would be forthcoming a
single legitimate solution of the mystery.
The Indifferent appreciation shown by
Portlanders for the greatest show of Its
kind ever attempted west of the Mis
sissippi River. Is simply inexplicable. The
Tail road records show that the attend
ance from out-of-town points waa far
ahead of expectations and this Is cor
roborated by the fair management which
places the outside support at more than
60 per cent of the total attendance. The
railroad records also show that the num
ber of Portlanders visiting thf State Fair
at Salem the week previous waa greater
than the number in attendance at the
big show In Portland. The visit to Salem
was necessarily attended with much
greater expense and discomfort than
could possibly be - met with at the
Pacitlc National Show, yet thousands of
Portlanders subjected themselves to this
discomfort and expense and then refused
to support the local show to the extent
of a single visit.
Various reasons will of course be
offered for this lack of public spirit. The
touts and gamblers are certain that
with pool selling, there would have been
a larger attendance, but their argument
Is knocked silly by the fact that there
was no pool selling at the State Fair
which was well patronized by the Port
landers and which bad the largest at
tendance In Its history. Others will an
nounce their lack of Interest In racing as
a reason for remaining away, and yet
the livestock exhibition which was worth
many times the paltry 60 cents admis
sion, was of such magnitude that fully
half a day was needed properly to view
It. Buffalo Bill's show with Its moth
eaten horses and Indians. presenting
nothing new. original or startling, drew
.'! people In its four performances at
double the price of admission charged by
the Pacific National Show, but even that
loss of t.0u0 to the community does not
aix-ount for all the lack of patronage of
the Portland people. Had there been as
much appreciation shown In this pity in
proportion to its population, as was dis
played by McMinnville. Scio and a num
ber of other Willamette Valley points,
the average daily attendance at the big
show during the week of enchanting wea
ther m-ould have been more than 30,000.
But the directors, who have spent
th'lr time and money so freely, will not
ault because Portland has administered a
t v sJ' ' V A 'v' -
THIRTEENTH place
tlonal match!
In the Nn
At first thought the person un
the
learned in matters pertaining to
science of marksmanship might not
think 13th place .a position greatly to
be envied. But by earning that cov
eted place the Oregon National Guard
Infantry team, which has Just returned
from Camp Perry. O.. won the envy of
a score of states. The Oregon men
were congratulated on every han I and
many were the Inquiries Adjutant
General Flnzer. as team captain, re
ceived as to the course pursued by his ,
men during the practice period preced
ing the National matclres.
When it Is set out that 50 teams com
peted at the National range on the
south shore of Lake Erie this season;
that every team of the 60 rep
resented the very best marks
men available from a given section
of the country: that at least 45 of these
teams have had not less than four sea
sons in the National competitions, and
that each team goes through a long
course of preliminary training, then
It will be very easy to understand wbat
13th place means.
Oregon marksmanship has been un
dergoing a marked process of evolu
tion. The first team was sent to a Na
tional competition four years ago at
Seagirt. N. J-. where the matches were
then being held. Twenty-third place
was won and the local infantrymen
were encouraged. The following year
21st place was taken. Last year Ore
gon finished 17th. And this year 13th.
The improvement has been steady.
Naturally Oregon riflemen are being
watched with no small degree of In
stinging blow to their enterprise. The
Lewis and Clark livestock show, a much
smaller affair than the Pacific National,
brought to Portland and Oregon a num
ber of Eastern stockmen and farmers.
their Individual investments in this state
In some cases exceeding J1O0.O0U. What
has been accomDllshed Is convincing
evidence of what may be expected in the
future, and with high hopes lor next
year preparations will begin at once for
an even greater snow.
The livestock Industry nas maae Ore
gon famous and now mat rortiana is
equipped with the finest grounds In the
country for holding these exhibitions,
stockmen will be attracted from other
states In greater num tiers tnan in tna
past. Before next September the largest
packing plant west oi lire xtocity moun
tains will be in operation In this Hty,
and the necessity of providing It with a
good supply of livestock may appeal to
our people with sufficient force to Induce
them to give the exhibition the support
to which It 1b entitled. There will be
thousands of Eastern visitors In Port
land next year, and every citizen will
feel a pardonable pride If we can show
them such raring and such livestock ex
hibits as surprised visitors to the first
exhibition of the Pacific National Show.
In order that we may have this pleasant
opportunity, it is necessary for every
citizen to take an Interest In the affair,
and give it the support that was so
sadly lacking last week.
OPEN CAMPAIGN FOR 'NEXT YEAR
Coaatry Clab Offers Season Tickets for
Comlag Show.
Following the plan outlined in Ths
Sunday Oregonian, the Country Club
and ' Livestock Association will, this
morning. Inaugurate a campaign for the
sale of season tickets for next year's
Pacific National show. The committee
which will have the matter in hand will
be composed ot & considerable number
of the directors of the association and a
thorough canvass of the business dis
tricts of the city will be made In the
Interests of this project.
The work of handling the campaign
will be in charge of President S. G.
Reed; of the association; Manager Tom
Richardson, of the Commercial Club, who
!s also a director, and a number of other
Portland men who are extremely Inter
ested In the plan to perpetuate the Pa
cific National show as a regular annual ,
O. N. G. RIFLE TEAM WHICH WO!
terest. Where will they land next
year? Teams that have been getting
inside the money, meaning the first
I Places, are already asking this
IIUCTBUUII.
"How do you Oregonians go about
your preliminary training and how are
the teams selected from year to year?"
This question was asked General
Finzer no less than 20 times during the
National shoot which ended the first of
the month. Indiana sent a man around
to the Oregon camp to get pointers.
Then came Delaware, and later Ne
braska, Michigan, Texas, Missouri, Ok
lahoma and others. They could noc
have paid Oregon a finer compliment.
As has already been recorded, the
United States service teams carried off
the awards In the principal events. But
It Is nly fair to explain that they had
a great advantage. For they were at
the Camp Perry range as early as July
1 and had dally practice. Any scien
tific rifleman understands the advan
tage of knowing range conditions. The
service, teams, comprising the United
States Infantry team, the United States
Cavalry team, the Marine Corps nnd
the United States Navy team, knew
their ranges perfectly. They knew
every lltcle trick In the play of light
and shade, the inner secrets of the
winds, and how to allow for such con
ditions. Teams coming suddenly to
the competition, as did Oregon, did not
have an equal f how with the service
teams.
"Phall preliminary practice on the
National range be barred hereafter?"
This Is the question which the condi
tion just referred to brought to every
mind. The result Is that the National
Board for the Promotion of Rifle Prac
tice Is passing the question around
among the Adjutant-Generals of the
feature of Portland's civic activities.
The first thing this morning, the cam
paign committee will be selected and the
members will be urged to go to work
at once so that as large a showing as
possible may be made within the next
two or three days.
While the project as now contemplated
calls for the advance sale of 3000 season
tickets for next year's show at 35 each,
the Country Club people are confident
that a much larger number than that
will be subscribed, because these tickets
will be transferable and may be used
by anyone to whom the original pur
chaser may tender them.
"I talked with a large number of peo
ple yesterday," said President Reed, last
night, "and the plan has appealed to
them strongly, and I do not believe we
will encounter much difficulty In placing
thousands of these season tickets now
that we have shown what class of at
tractions can be given the people of
Portland. It Is a peculiar thing that
while we have heard nothing but paise
for the high standard of excellence that
has been set for our first effort In pro
moting harness races and Industrial ex
positions her, there was no greater pub
lic patronage last week.
"In the campaign which It Is-now our
Intertion to carry out. we shall be able
to determine very quickly whether the
Interest which has been displayed the
past two days 'is genuine and whether
It will be worth while for us to under
take a show on a bigger and more com
prehensive scale next year than the one
Just closed. Now is the time for this
matter to be decided once and for all.
"If we find the people are with us, we
will buckle Into the harness and will
assure the City of Portland, the Bute
of Oregon and. In fact, the whole Pacific
Northwest a grander and more magnifi
cent exposition next September than the
one just ended. It is, however. absolute
ly out of th question for us to undertake
a project of this magnitude without as
surance beforehand that our efforts will
be appreciated. We expect to have the
best boosters In the city, the most en
terprising citizens and business men we
can Impress into service enlisted in this
campaign so that there may be no com
plaint that we did not do everything wa
could, resort to every exingency we
were capable of to test the public Inter
est and arouse public appreciation."
In order to facilitate the matter of se
curing pledges, a blank form has been 1
prepared and may be filled out by all j
1STH PLACE IN NATIONAL COMPETITION, FINISHING AHEAD OF 87 TEAMS.
eot'ii'ry to learn what they think of
the .natter. It Is a safe bet that every
Adjutant-General In the country will
urge exclusion of ail teams from the
National range except at such shc.-t
practice periods as may be prescribed
Immediately before the commencement
of a competition and at such time as
all the teams are assembled.
As to the new service .rifle. It is
coming into favor with the riflemen
of the country. The sentiment of the
regular and National Guard service
throughout could be pretty well sound
ed by the . expressions of riflemen at
Camp Perry. There were few to dis
credit the new Springfield, although it
was generally admitted that it will
take a year or two before troops gen
erally havs become thoroughly accus
tomed to the gun.
In taking 13th place the Oregfn team
had a hard battle with Ohio. Maine
and Oklahoma. The Oregonians fin
ished the first day at fourth place. This
was at 200 yards, slow fire. At 200
yards rapid, the next day. they wero
forced back to sixth; at 600 yards,
seventh place; at skirmish, ninth, and
at 800 and 1000 yards, 13th place.
Ohio. Maine and Oklahoma pressed the
Oregon men hard, but had to fall in.
their wake.
General satisfaction with the show
ing of the men has been expressed in
Guard circles and the hope is stronger
than ever of getting in the first five
places at the shoot next year. Plans
for the team of next year have already
been taken up by General Flnzer. who
said yesterday when asked for a state
ment, that qualifications for the team
will be more difficult next year than
ever before, and that more time will be
given to the development and prelim
inary training of the men who are to
those who desire to assist in making
the Pacific National show of 1909 a
greater demonstration than the one this
year. This blank should be filled out
with the number of tickets subscribed
for and either left at or sent In to the
office of The Oregonian. The number of
tickets so pledged will be limited to 20
to each person, firm or corporation, and
If the campaign shows Indications of suc
cess, it will be continued until every cit
izen and business interest in thiK com
munity has had a chance to sisn for
one or more tickets. They need not be
paid for at thie time. All the committee
desires Is the pledge of support from the
public so that tt may know whether il
will be advisable to begin planning for
the 1909 show, which, by the way. should
draw heavily from the attendance of the
Alaska-Yukon-Pacific exposition, which
will be on at Seattle at that time. Fiil
out this coupon and send it In to Th
Oregonian:
PORTLAND. Sept. . 1808.
To Ths Oregonian: '
Transferable season ticket. Includ
ing grandstand reservation, for meet
ing of Portland Country Club and'
Livestock Atiociatlon, 1909 meeting,
at 5
I hereby subscribe for
tickets, season 1900, to be paid for
when called upon by the officers of
ths association.
HUNTING THE BIG GAME
African Resident Write of What
Roosevelt Will Find.
OREGON CITY, Or., Sept. 27. (Special.)
Interesting tales of a hunt for big game
In the wilds of Africa come from E. B.
Bronson. whose stories of cowboy life on
the Western Plains In Pearson's Magazine
have created much Interest- Twenty years
ago Bronson was the owner of a cattle
ranch In the West and one of his cow-
punchers was Dr. W. E. Carll. now Mayor
of Oregon City.
Becoming tired of life on a cattle ranch.
Bronson went to New York City and be
came a Journalist, and after many years
Dr. Carll heard from him through Pear
son's and wrote Bronson. who is now in
East Africa. Dr. Carll thinks that Bron
son will return to the United States about
- . . . , :mzr:Arm !.
represent the state on the National
range.
The members of the 1908 team,
nearly ail of whom are now back from
the East, are: General Flnzer, team
captain; Major Frank B. Hamlin, Rose
burg, coach; Captain Samuel White,
Baker City, spotter; IJeutenant Mosh
berger, Woodburn, range officer. Rifle
men: Captain George E. Houck, Rose
burg: Lieutenant Richard Delch, Port
land; Lieutenant Fred G. Stewart,
Roseburg; Sergeant A. A. Schwarz,
Portland: Sergeant Chester W. Abrams,
Salem; Sergeant Frank H. Snodgrass,
Cottage Grove; Sergeant R. L. Perdew,
Eugene: Corporal O. Romaine, Port
land: Corporal Alex Ferguson, Rose
burg; Sergeant A. Q. Johnson. Rose
burg; Corporal J. H. Potts. Cottage
Grove: Corporal W. W. McCornack,
Eugene: Private Ben F. Shields. Rose
burg; Private Butte Mooney, Cottage
Grove.
Sergaant Abrams, a new man on the
team, showed remarkable form through
out and as a result takes a place of prom
inence among Oregon marksmen. A num
ber of those on this team are assured of
Name.
Houck. George B.. Captain
Ferguson. Alex.. Corporal
Johnson. A. 0.. Sargeant
Stewart. F. G., Lieutenant
Schwarz. A. A.. Sergeant
Mooney. B.. Private
Scott. R. O.. Captain
Romaine. O. P.. Corporal
Perdew. R. I,., Sergeant
Snodgrass. F. H.. Sergeant
Shields. B. r. Private
Abrams, C, Sergeant t.
Team total.
a place next year. Captain Houck will
devote his time in the future to coach-
the time President Roosevelt Is ready to
start on his much heralded hunt and that
the President will take Bronson back with
him.
In a'letter to Dr. Carll Bronson gives
the following bit of his experiences in the
search for big game:
Am- out here shooting wanted one mora
go at the big ones while I can still see my
sights. This country is wild and as sparse
ly settled as the Far Wert In '69. For hun
dreds of square miles hereabouts game is
thicker than we ever raw cattle on the
range all the many varieties of antelope,
from the tiny dykdyk. scarcely bigger than
a coyote, to the giant eland, lion, rhino,
hippo, buffalo, giraffe, ostrich, zebra, wilde
beesete. etc. Have been out here six weeks
and shall not leave until I'm forced. Vast
plateau 4000 to 10.000 feet straddle of the
equator, better grassed than any wild ranga
we ever saw at home. From 8 A. M. to
5 P. M. the thermometer in the sun aver
ages 140 degrees In the shade 60 to 70
degrees. The nights are always cold. Have
a lot ot fine skins and heads already and
hone to get some more.
It's a man's Job tackling these big fellows
Rhino, buffalo and elephant are only to bs
got at in papyrus swamps, or bamboo thick
ets so dense you can't get Into 'em except
along game trails- walled In so solidly you
can't get off 'em a step, and each of these
three beauties almost Invariably charge you
on scent. Instantly, and a frontal shot in
the bead, with anything less than a can
non. Is useless. Lion are gentlemen and
will avoid a row If they honorably can, but
jump them up suddenly, crowd or wound
them, and It's "shoot, Luke, or give up the
gun.'
One of the greatest pleasures the spinning
cow yarns has brought me lies in ths fact
that their publication has served to Jump
up out of tbe brush a lot of old friends I
have heard nothing of In 20 to ao years.
Would be glad if you would write me any
Incidents of particular Interest you can re
call of ths year you were in the NN out
fit, and also of your experience on the wild
horse chase and "78-9 scrap with the Chey
enne. HOW TRICK DOGS ARK TAUGHT
Trainer Instructs Canines by Doing
Things He Wants Done.
Nowadays there Is a great craze for
"acting dogs" dogs which come on ths
stage and do things by themselves. In
every case the trainer begins by leading
the dog through the movements he has
to make, and at each lesson the trainer
does exactly the same thing In the same
way and uses the same words in giving
a command.
A dog Is taught to beg by being first
ing. Others who are regarded as likely
candidates for the crack team of 1909 are
Lieutenant Stewart, Sergeant Perdew,
Corporal Romaine, Corporal Ferguson,
Corporal McCornack and Private Shields.
The teams which participated in the
National competition in the order of their
finish are as follows: United States In
fantry, United States Navy, United States
Cavalry, Marine Corps, Wisconsin, Massa
chusetts. United States Naval Academy,
Pennsylvania, District of Columbia,
Washington, Illinois. Iowa, Oregon, Okla
homa, Jlaipe. Ohio. New Hampshire, Colo
rado, California, New York. Maryland.
New Jersey, Minnesota, Kansas. Missouri,
Hawaii. Indiana, Michigan, West Vir
ginia, Kentucky. Wyoming, Connecticut,
Georgia, Rhode Island, Arizona, Alabama,
South Carolina, Nebraska, Tennessee,
Delaware, North Dakota, Texas. Ver
mont, Virginia. Arkansas. New Mexico,
Utah, Mississippi, Louisiana. North Caro
lina. A table showing the scores made by In
dividuals of the Oregon team in the Na
tional team match Indicates that remark
able shooting was done by several mem
bers of the team. The table follows:
600 800
1000
Yds.
S.F.
41
41
30
39
36
22
24
44
29
29
4
38
Yds. Yds.
yds. yds.
- S.F. R F. S.F. s.F.
, .. -' 3-t 38
' S.I 40 4 J
40f 3r, 33 4J
-.. 40 :i 41 43
41 8A 42 43
3S 38 44 34
40 38 39 2.
40 20 40 42
40 XI 4 43
42 38 40 42
40 42 42 48
r ..-. 44 30 36 50
487 416 481 504
Agg
255
200
211
259
238
228
212
268
253
217
275
267
64
28
S3
40
52
45
73
64
26
54
6
633
422 ' 2948
I Possible score at all ranges, 50. Possible
at skirmish, 100.
backed up Into a corner, where he has
two walls to rest against. He is taught
to walk on his hind legs by being led
about In this posititon while the trainer
supports his front legs. Jumping Is a
very easy trick to teach. The trainer be
gins by holding a stick so low down that
the dog cannot walk under it. By de
grees the stick Is raised until the dog Is
compelled to jump In order to get over It,
and directly he does so he Is well re
warded. Performing dogs receive most
of their food In the shape of rewards for
good conduct.
Every now and again one hears of an
outcry against the cruelty of teaching
dogs to perform tricks. The outcry may
be justified in the case of dogs that are
taught to jump over very high obstacles,
because that is about the only kind of
trick which can be taught with a whip.
It Is possible to "whip a dog over" a high
jump. The audience does not see the
whipper, because the dog starts his "run
up'" out of sight at one side of the
stage. A whip is worse than useless to
the trainer who is teaching a dog to do
a trick In which the animal appears to
think.
A dog is taught to apparently distin
guish between colors by learning a secret
signal given to him by his trainer when
he gets to the desired color. Sometimes
the signal is the snapping of the fingers,
done very softly, and in a way not no
ticed by the audience. Sometimes the
signal is even less noisy than that, and
consists in the clicking of the nails of
the thumb and first finger. Once train a
dog to pick a thing up when he hears
the signal to do so and you have taught
him a variety of tricks such as adding
up a sum. telling the time by looking at
a watch, and so on.
Make Protest 300.000 Strong.
LONDON, Sept. 27?-Of the great dem
onstrations held In Hyde Park in recent
years, that of today to protest against
the licensing bill was by far the largest,
but it lacked the enthusiasm which was
manifested at the other gatherings, par
ticularly of the Suffragists. The crowd
today was estimated at 300,000. Ninety
speakers declaimed against the bill at
the different central points for an hour
or more, and at a bugle call a resolution
condemning the bill was proposed and
carried with a great outburst of cheer-tag.
In speaking of football In this country
the average American thinks of the game
played at the colleges and high schools
of this country, or of Rugby, says the
Indianapolis Star. They are right; there
is but one kind of football in the United
States. There have been some attempts
made to introduce another game known
as association football or soccer.
These attempts have not taken well ex
cept with Englishmen and Scotchmen who
live here or are visiting this country- The
game of soccer Is the popular English
sport. Thousands of people gather to
Bee even a match between two town
teams in England, let alone a match be
tween two teams that represent different
sections of th country or different coun
tries. '
There is one man In this city that Is
a thorough believer in the' English soccer
game. Willie Still, golf Instructor at the
Indianapolis Country Club, thinks that
this Is the only real form of football. Still
Is a well-informed man on the game,
having played it In Scotland for many
years. He has also seen our style of foot
ball, and still expresses himself as highly
In favor of the English game. He, backs
up his statement with good arguments
for the game as played across the pond.
He says the play is more open and to
those that understand it Is even more
Interesting than our own National game
of baseball. In England they have both
professional and amateur soccer teams.
The professional teams are- formed in
leagues on the order of our professional
baseball teams. The chief dlfferenoe in
these leagues Is that there are many more
teams In a league than form an American
baseball league.
Many Teams in League.
There are often as high as JO to 24
teams in a soccer league. A regular
schedule Is made out and the teams play
each other In turn at the grounds of the
different teams.
Still says that the size of the crowds
at an English soccer football match Is a
real feature. It is nothing unusual for
70.000 or 75.000 people to see one of the
big championship matches. The best
class of people in England and Scotland
gather to urge their favorites to their
best. Another feature of the crowds that
gather to see the games "across the
pond." Still says, is the fact that they
all have seats.
The grounds are arranged with plenty
of seating capacity. Not so In this coun
try. You never hear of thousands of peo
ple taking their dinner and waiting from
7 o'clock in the morning until the game
starts in the afternoon at an English
park or athletic field, as was the case
In Chicago a few days ago when the
New York Giants played Chicago.
The English believe In providing plenty
of room for all the spectators who care to
see the games. This, Still says, affects
the size of the crowds. He declares that
if a man knows that If he goes to a hall
park that he can be sure of getting a
seat he will be more likely to go than if
he feels sure that when he arrives late
hundreds have been waiting for hours and
he will have to stand and will see the
game from a point where others are
crowded close around him. This, he says,
has a great effect on the size of the
crowds in England at the big football
matches.
Still says that many people mix the
game of Footer or Rugby football as
played in the English schools. He says
that soccer Is different and Is far ahead
of the English Rugby. He also says that
the English Rugby is far ahead of the
American Rugby. Ho says that ths Eng
lish Rugby is a better game to watch
than the American game.
"There Is not the danger in the Eng
lish game of soccer that there Is in the
American game of Rugby. The- season
opens in Scotland August 1 and opens In
England September 1 and lasts In both
countries until April 80. The game is also
played in much longer halves than the
American Rugby, each half being 46 min
utes in length." Still smiled and asked:
"How many players would be left if the
American football season lasted that long
or the game were of that duration?"
Of course the American gams does not,
last as long as the English nor does tha
season extend over such a length of
time, but the new rules In football are
fast overcoming the many objectionable
features of the game and there are not
so many Injuries resulting from the game .
as there once were. Still says that tha
English game is played mostly by pro
fessionals, while we must remember that
the American game Is played generally
by amateurs. This would also make a
difference in the season.
The games of soccer are very exalting.
The English and Scotch professionals be
come very proficient. They pass the ball.
from one to the other with their feet
with ease and precision equal to what
the basketball players on our fastest
teams do with their hands. The Queens
Park is one of the greatest soccer grounds
in England.
It was at this park that the Interna
tional match was held. Tho best team
from England and the best from Scot
land met and the Scotch were victorious.
It is said that more than 100,000 people
saw the struggle. The three best-known
leagues in the islands are- the English
League, Scotch Leafcue and the Celtic
League.
In speaking of the prospects of tha
game in this country Still expressed him
self as hopeful of the game gaining a
foothold In the United States. The game
has been played In some of our larger
cities, both in the East and West. There
are a ' number of strong teams In Chi
cago. The game has gained in popularity
In the "Windy City" from year to year. .
Atlantic Fleet at Samoa.
APIA, Samoa, Sept. 21, via Auckland,
N Z., Sept. 27. Several vessels of the
American Pacific fleet, Including the
cruiser Tennessee, the flagship of the
second division, In command of Rear
Admiral Sebree, an the Washington,
the Whipple and the Hopkins, have ar
rived here, the residents of Apia giT
lng the Americans a hearty . greeting.
Boatloads of fruit were sent to the
warships today.
MANILA, Sept. 2S. The wireless sta
tion at Malabang, In the northern part
of the Island of Mindanao, reports this
morning that it was In communication
with the Atlantic battleship fleet but
did not ascertain the exact location of
the fleet. -
Former Diplomat In Trouble.
CHICAGO, Sept. 27. Dr. J. A. 9. Cross
land, formerly United StateB Minister to
Liberia and a negro political leader of
National prominence, was placed under
arrest here today on a charge of grand
larceny. Dr. Crossland is accused of
wholesale theft of drugs, cigars, etc,
from a drug store In this city.