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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 24, 1905)
17 SPORTS OF AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL Baseball Players on Vacation McCredie Signs Pitchers Militiamen Are Busy at Rifle Practice THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLJlNT), DECEMBER .24, 1905. HARD TRIP BY AUTO Percy F. Megargel Writes of His Hardships. ZERO WEATHER; NO ROADS Automobile Ploughs Through Snow nud Bumps Over Lava Rocks Until Flagstaff, Arizona, Is"" Reached. AUTOMOBILISTS TXST AND RES- The daring; automoblllsts, Percy F. Mccarfitl and D. F. Fassett, who came very near losing their lives by cet tlnc causht In the mountains to the Rest of Flacstaft. Ariz., durtnc a Wi zard, and who were rescued: li the nick of time, arc now well on their way to New York. The men were reiorted as bavin? been lost in the mountains on December 15, and. a rescue party wet out from Flagstaff Immediately, and finally discovered the tourlstn In a sad plight, without food and almost out of caeo line, which they had been uslnc as fuel, on December ID. They had been burning gasoline for fuel for several days, and the flames from their Are brought the rescuing party to their aid. Tho accompanying letter was written by Megargel before leaving Flagstaff. By Percy F. Megargel. FLAGSTAFF, Arizona Territory. cc 11. (Special Correspondence.) After a tedious climb of several thousand feet, the last 40 miles being through snow over a foot in depth, the Reo Mountaineer of New York reached Flagstaff, the highest point on the Santa Fc Railroad system in Arizona Territory, late this afternoon. From "hero it will "be gradually down hill for a couple of hundred miles, and, al though the snow is reported as being much deeper between hero and Winslow than west of here, I have every confi dence in the ability of the Reo Moun taineer successfully to cope with it. One point east of here docs worry me a little, and that is the Canyon Diablo, or Devil's Canyon, some 20 miles cast of Flagstaff. This canyon, 2T0 feet deep and 500 feet wide, is crossed by a railroad trestle, a single track bridge with neither guard rail nor outer planking. It is our only chance to cross unless the old Santa Fc trail crossing, many miles to the north, lias been repaired. At last reports this trail down to tho bottom of the can yon and up on the opposite side has been entirely washed out, leaving the railroad trestle tho only means of crossing. My hand is pretty steady, but when it comes to crossing such a bridge, the wheels bumping ovor the railroad tics, and only six inches of leeway on one side with a 2.".0-foot fall if anything goes wrong, it causes even a transcontlncntallst to pause and do some thinking. Thermometer Near Zero. It has been our lot to have to sleep out several nights lately, and with the thermometer running down in the neigh borhood of zero and our supply of bed ding limited. It differs some from Summer camping on the lakes of old Ontario or Erie. It Is usually quite warm and com fortable until about 2 A. M., then It commences to get colder and colder, and, despite the wood we piled on our camp lire, -wo arc all but frozen at sun-up. The cold nights have one advantage, and that is the roads are generally frozen so solid that it is easy -wheeling for some hours, for running through cither mud or soft melting snow has a tendency to hold us back, and we arc three days behind our schedule now. This Is all Indian country through which we arc traveling now. and every little town at which wo stop has its suburbs filled with Indian shacks. The famous Navajo blankets are woven in and around Flagstaff, and all manner of beadwork, bows and arrows. Indian pottery and bas kctwork. are offered for sale at the coun try stores hereabouts. The white inhabi tants arc all worked up over tho proposed joining of tire two territories. New Mexi co and Arizona, making one state out of lli two territories. From the talk of ranchmen and townspeople, there will be n civil war if such a course is adopted by iho Government. "To bo joined to a lot of Ignorant 'greasers' is the worst fate that could possibly befall us," Is the way the&rizonlan puts It. Over Beds of Lava Rocks. Since leaving Sellgman. we have en countered no sand to speak of. but we have run into and through beds of lava rocks. Time and time again we were obliged to stop the Reo and get out and build up 6tone bridges across some boulder loo large to straddle and so situated that it could not be dodged. Despite every precaution we hit rock after rock with our front axle and differential, breaking our front truss rod, tearing away the pet cock on the rear cylinder and bending our lear truss rod until it ceased to do its nharo toward supporting the rear axle. The trail had not been traversed for months and in many places ceases to ex ist at all. wo picking out our own route, keeplug the railroad track in sight as much of the way as possible. The town of Williams is where tourists change cars to run up into the Grand Oanyon of the Colorado, situated some CO miles to the north. Last night I listened to the story of a party who attempted to make the run in an automobile four years ago. The car was an old Toledo steamer, the manufacturing of which has long since been discontinued. It was originally in tended for two passengers, but four man aged to crowd in, carrying neither blan kets nor provisions, expecting to make the run in about four hours. Some 20 miles were made the first day, and all camped out for the night, going to sleep blanket loss and suppcrless. That night it froze and the water cracked the steamer's pipes. The party kept on, hdwevcr, and made about about 20 miles farther the next day. when the gasoline "gave out" There was not a human being within 20 miles of them, and they started to walk. The trials and tribulations of that party, all of them completely exhausted, after a 33-mile walk, and all nearly starved to death, for they had neither food nor wRtcr, forms a chapter in strenuous mo toring with which the cruise of the Reo Mountaineer through 13 states has seen nothing to compare. That was the first and last time an automobile has ever run to the Grand Canyon. Largest Automobllo Yet Seen. Tho automobile is not an unknown thing in these parts. At Needles ono Is owned, another is owned at "Williams and Flagstaff, boasts of two. yet the coming and going of the Reo Mountaineer is look ed upon as a matter of great interest by the inhabitants. "While only lS-horsenow-w aM welshing in the aeJgafeerboed of 3500 pounds, It is the largest machine that lias ever been seen in these parts, the autos owned here all being of the run about pattern. Our frying pan. grub box and sleeping blankets, articles so common to travelers in these parts, yet so seldom heard of in connection with an automo bile, always form the butt for practical jokers to pun over, horsemen saying that the only safe way to travel by automobile is to carry blankets and food enough for days to come. Just how long the animals owned by these jokers would last on a 7000-mile trip, such as the Reo Mountain eer has already to its credit. Is a matter for speculation. Gasoline can be had at all the little towns through which we have passed, with the exception of Peach Springs. Here we expected to replenish our tank, but not a drop could, be had in town. We wired Sellgman to put a case on the first freight out, which they did. and we wero only held up about seven hours. Lubri cating oil, however, Is a different matter, and I would strongly advise tourists to ship what they want into tills country before starting out on a tour. We use Mobiloll No. 4. and tho Standard Oil Com pany at Los Angeles booked our order for the entire trip East, sending it to des ignated places along the Santa Fe from Los Angeles, and later from Denver. Kan sas City. St. Louis arfd Philadelphia. It would be a pretty serious matter to run out or lubricating oil in Arizona, although Williams is only 24 hours express time from Los Angeles. The performance of our little car through deep snow has certainly sur prised its entire crew. A loot of snow, when frozen more or less solid, seems to have little effect on' our pced. -while we plough through the soft snow without any great effort. It is certainly much to bs preferred to the deep sand, although the car behaved gallantly in crossing the sev eral hundred miles of desert last week. SCIENTIFIC FOOTBALL. Players Urged to Adopt New Methods and Save the Game. BY J. B. WILTON. There is so much controversy through out the states concerning football, or rather the brutality of the game as played in America, that I feel you will pardon me for making some remarks thereon. My excuse for so doing is an effort to save the game (not necessarily tho Ameri can game, for that must go or become modernized), but to save real, scientific football from being abolished, and if tho football authorities will co-operate with me In a trial of the New Zealand TTnlon Rugby game, I am sure they will readily admit that a, splendid, scientific game can be played without danger to life or limb. There are five kinds of football played in tho world, tho American game being by far the roughest. It was given to you by your forefathers and adopted with much of its ancient brutality and out-of-date methods. To my mind New Zealand Union Rugby football Is the best game of football in the world. It was adopted from the ancient English Rugby years ago. It was a rough game, but from time to time Im provements have been made and the rules altered, and all along the line progress has marked the evolution of the game. And instead of "rough play and brute force" it is now marked by scientific play. There is very little scrimmage work (ex cept on a very wet field, when the slippery ball prevents free, open play) and instead of tho scrimmage, passing, running, drib bling and kicking are the feature. The game is played by 15 men on a side, placed as follows: Seven forwards, two wing forwards, two halfbacks, three three-quarters and one fullback. A scrum is formed as In your game, but instead of "slugging and fighting," science is used. The seven forwards "lock," the ball is "heeled out" to the wing, the wing passes to the halfback, who in turn runs, kicks or passes to the three-quarter, and often before you havo time to realize that the scrum Is broken these players have passed the ball one to the other and. have carried it across the field and may have scored. The whole team works like an automatic machine, each player seem ing to be in the right place at the critical moment. The wholo play is simply bril liant, and this clean, open, dashing play excites the spectators to the highest pitch. There is rarely an accident. Smartness takes tho place of "brute force." and all the old methods of English play, which made rough play possible have disap peared. Fair, sportsmanlike play is the keynote. In this game the players do not need any protective dress. Their playing uni form is composed of a worsted Jersey, knee pants, stockings and shoes, which may have only leather or rubber cleats, no iron being permitted. They wear no masks, nor pads of any kind. Weight of players is not considered important, ex cept for the forwards, very often a 130 pound player being tho acme of perfec tion for a wing or halfback, where quick ness and accuracy are the all-important features. THe play is always sufficiently open to allow the spectators a view of the tactics. The secret of the New Zcalandcrs' suc cess Is to be found in the organization of the scrimmage, whereby seven forwards are enabled to hold eight, and In such a redistribution of the backs as makes room for tho man saved from the back. Tho 2-3-2 phalanx of the New Zealand system, held together by Its Herculean "lock" for just so long, and never a moment longer, as the ball Is being scrimmaged, has eas ily held its own against 3-2-3 packs of un organized forwards. Not only is all waste of man-power avoided by thus organizing the pack, but tho new-fashioned phalanx, with its corporate intelligence, breaks up more quickly than the amorphous mass of Its opponents when the ball Is loose once more. Referring to the English method of playing the game, the teams of the mother country' cannot hope to learn tho New Zealand methods in a single season. The more knowledge and experience a player possesses of the English or Scot tish or Welsh styles, the less readily will he adapt his personality to the new science and art of Rugby Union football. It may bo that a generation of players put it at seven years, since few last as long as the Yurdons will have passed be fore the refinements of the New Zealand game are practiced everywhere in the United Kingdom, and will apply, as they do. Nelson's newly discovered motto of "touch-and-take" to the criss-cross pass ing between three-quarters and five eighths. The revolution will be speedier If the public schools take up the new methods with one accord. But the public schools are strongholds of conservatism, where the old ideals of stout scrimmage are still dominant. Certain laudatdres temporis acti seem to believe that a five minutes' scrimmage is the cornerstone of the constitution of British Rugby football. I wish it were possible to have the New Zealand team, now playing in England, play a few exhibition games In this coun try, i'ossioiy it could be arranged if tbc'r expenses were guaranteed. I would do all I conld as a New Zealander to bring it about. There are many features of the game I cannot enter Into here, but will be glad to assist any one wlslilng to take the lead, and I would Instruct to the best of my ability two teams, to Illustrate the play. Just for the sake of the good old game of football. If this game were taken up seriously by tho American peo ple, and played, on these shores as it is on the other side of the Paine, chancing or Improving: to suit the conditions of this country, you would then have a scientific and modern game, in place of the antiquated and obsolete methods of Henry H's time, as played now. and give to these grand states a sportsmanlike pastime. n keeping with the many other progressive things the AmeVlc&M know se weH Imw 4e. SUB URTISTS REST Baseball Players Take to the Mountains. VICTORY OF LOS ANGELES Mike Fisher "While in San Pranclsco Makes No Excuses, Saying tlic Angels Won on Their 3Icrits. After almost nine months of baseball the clubs of the Pacific Coast League have all disbanded and the members of the various teams have returned to their C. HOWAKD. IOKTTA'D BASEBALi; tlXITS NEW riTClIER. ' homes or selected some favorite city wherein to spend the Winter. Many of the players seek employment during the off season, but there are also many of them who havo saved enough from each monthly stipend to keep them in case and comfort during the period of leisure. The attention of the average player is about equally divided between spending the off-season !n the woods or at some health report. Among the members of the local col on - several Of fhm nv AimorinA rr the mountains. Mike Mitchell and Virgil! oarvm leit a row days ago for an outing in the Cascade range. They expect to be gone a month or more, during which time they will hunt and filsh to their hearts' content.' Jack McLean intends to join a party of surveyors who are contem plating a trip into the wilds of Ska mania County. Wash., and will spend a month or so In the woods. This sort of exercise will do the big fellow a world of good, and by the time the next season rolls around he will be fit as a fiddle for the resumption of play. Manager McCredie announces that he has secured two mora promising young twirlers for his team next season, each of whom will be given a thorough try out In the Spring. The new men are Charles Moore, the crack pitcher of the Columbia University team, and Howard, of Vancouver, who pitched for the Schlllcrs during the past two seasons. Moore has a phenomenal record for a youngster, for during the past season he pitched 23 games, of which 22 were victories for his team. During the season Moore pitched for the varsity team and also the University Park nine, and his work with these teams attracted the attention of the Portland rilVnager. with the result that he has added the clever youngster to his staff of twirlers for 1906. Howard is spoken of very highly by tbo who have seen him perform, and Is known to the local fans, having appeared on the local dia mond on several occasions while twirl ing for tho Schiller team. Louis Nordyke and Mike Lynch, while" passing through Portland on their way to Spokane and Tacoma. re spectively, stated that Los Angeles won the pennant from their team be cause the Angel twirlers did the bet ter work during the series. According to the Tiger twirlers. Bobby Kecfe was the only Tacoma slab artist who had anything on the Angels, and they beat him twice during the series. Nordyke will spend the Winter In Spokane, and expects to join the St, Louis National League team about the first of April. Lynch will Winter in Tacoma, where he has a position with the electric light company. Lynch says that Jake Atz was suffering from an abscess on his leg. which prevented him from playing In a majority of the post-season games. Mike Fisher, erstwhile King of Ta coma. and the bearer of several other sobriquets, blew into San Francisco the other day, and. strange to say, had no excuses to offer for the defeat of his team In the post-season games at Los Angeles. Mike had the following to say about the series: "The Los Angeles Club won strictly on its merits. Tho Angels outplayed the Tigers at all stages of the game. I have no excuse to offer, except that my pitchers went back on me. Brown being the only man who was In any kind of shape. On the other hand. Morleys players were In the best pos sible condition and put up the fastest kind of ball. Casey strained his back and was forced to retire, which weak ened my stonewall Infield. But Just to ebow you the luck that there Is In baseball, when Bobby Eager got hurt Ross was placed behind the bat. We then thought we would trim the An gels, but the speedy outfielder caught s good a game of ball as any catcher I have ever seen perform His gilt tge work .caught the fancy of the fans, and he will probably be Los An geles regular catcher next season. Morlcy had an additional stroke of luck when he picked up a busher named Ellis. This fellow was put In left field, and played a corking; good , game. He -will also be on the club s payroll lit me spring. e nanaies nim self nicely at the plate, and Is very fast on his feet. "We did not make much money out of the series, as the Angels won the required number of games right off the reel." Rube Waddell pitched 37 games this season, and won 27. This was by Ions odds the best showing of any of the American League pitchers. Tannehlll. of Boston, carried off "place- honors, winning- 22 out of 31 games. Coakley won 17 out of 23, Alt rock 24 out of 35. and Plant 24 out of 36. Bender, the Indian twlrlcr. who won the only game Philadelphia, beat New York in th world's championship scries, won IS out of 29. Chesbro won 20 out of 34. "I made a rush at Tom Lynch all the way from my position at short one day at Pittsburg', when he called Jake Stenzel safe at second on a steal, when I had him out by 15 feet," says Eddie McKcan. "As we wrangled away a big- man In the grandstand got up. strode down to the netting, and said: 'Come, come, fellers. Fllrae ties. Tom began to laugh, and so did I. but we were both pretty mad and excited. What docs he mean. Ed? Tom asked In a lefs-qult tone of voice. "Why. said I, he means that finite tiles. I knew that didn't sound right, but I could not get it straight. 'So.' said Lynch, be means that lies tllme." And there we stood for a full minute, neither of us able to say 'time files. When the words finally came to us we were both ready to resume work, and I had forgotten what I was kicking about." Phil Knell, tho old pitcher, will ask President Bert to give him a chance to handle the Indicator next year. Jn the few games he has already umpired players speak In highest terms of his work, and they say he will deliver the goods if given a chance. Phil knows the game as well as anyone. Is level headed and has no bad habits. There is no reason why he should not do as well as some umpires who are now drawing salaries. At any rate. Phil's many friends in California would like to sec him have a chance to show his ability. BLIND BUT PLAIT FOOTBALL Kentucky Youtlis Rely on Keen Sense of Sound. New York Sun. With all the hullabaloo against football, some sensible, some from those who don't know a football from a free lunch, but who arc ready to fall In behnld any clamor, there Is one Institute down In Kentucky whose players liavc made no complaint and who are blind. The Ken tucky Institute for the Blind has a foot ball eleven, and it Is no imitation game they play, cither. They are sightless but courageous and play a spirited, skillful and vigorous game. "Our blindness is merely a handicap, cay these sightless gridiron warriors. "We are strong, and we don't get laid out any more than other players do. And we manage to hold our own." An extremely acute sense of hearing Is one of the faculties that enable the blind players to overcome their want of. eye sight. Their highly-developed sense of sound enables them to tell where a play is going. If an opposing play goes toward the left wing the blind players endeavor to mass there as quickly as possible. What Mr. Gregory, their coach, calls mus cular action is another thing they rely on. They are able to thus divine move ments of their opponents. There are. of course, limitations to the ability of blind players not felt by tho-e who can see. and out of courtesy to them opposing teams do not try end running. They confine their attacks between the tackles. But the blind players try end runs as well as other wide thrown ma neuvers after tho manner of Yale and Pennsylvania. leading exponents of open play, and whose game is not built en tirely around bruising tandems and the like. They do more line-bucking than anything else, but now and then throw Interference at an opposing end with enough precision to put him out of the play. Also, like the Ells and Quakers, the blind boys make agility cope with oppos ing weight. The blind players use a round ball be cause it is easier to handle, and do only direct passing to avoid rumbles, when a certain "hole" has been signalled for. they get together ana help tee runner as much as any other team would. Their attacks are versatile, and the handicap they suf fer on the defense Is offset not a little by the football axiom that a strong offense is the best defense. Those who have seen the blind players in action say they are rugged and speedy and slam late as eppoMUon which they cannot see with xeanemness and. deter mination. Keen eyestgat Is considered one of the ementials ef football, yet these youths, wlw pisy R in darknese. play it welt. A ltd they get lu eajoymeat out oi 1- JAGKMEN'SlfEXT Pugdom Is Wondering Whom He Will Meet. TOMMY RYAN'S ASSURANCE Declares He Is Willing to Meet the Man AVlio Mastered -Fltz, hut lias Said So Before Without Posting Forfeit. Now that Philadelphia Jack O'Brien has effectually disposed of Bob Fitx- simmons. tho attention of pugdom naturally turns to the question: "Who will be the next opponent for tne Quaker?" This matter has not as yet been dis cussed at any length, although Tnmy Ryan Is again heralded as wishing to meet the Philadelphia man for the honors. This cry from Ryan Is noth ing new, for he has expressed the same desire so often, and at the samj time has failed to post his forfeit of good faith, that the average fight fan wants to be shown when the name of Ryan is considered in connection with a' fight with O'Brien. Marvin Hart, the Louisville slugger, who gained considerable promlnenco recently by defeating that "gemmati" of color known In pugilistic circles as Jack Johnson, came out recently with a statement that he was willing to meet both Fltzsimmons and O'Brien in the same ring- and on the same night. agreeing to dispose of both of them. "Marvelous" had better try anotner brew, for he evidently has been im bibing too much corn julco of the extra strong variety to cause him such thoughts. Mr. Hart would do pretty well to hold his own with the grand old man who recently went down to defeat, and he would have to go some to get the money in a contest with O'Brien. He has joined Tommy Ryan, his new manager, at Benton Harbor. Mich. In a few days the pair will start out giving boxing exhibitions under the manage ment of Jack Curley. the Chicago sportsman. .It is planned to visit every country on the globe and meet all com ers. Hart has picked up his weight considerably since his fight with Jack Root, and today tips the scales at 215 pounds, the most he has ever weighed. "Farm life Is what did it," said Hart. In speaking of his weight. "And It Is not fat either, but good, hard flesh, bone and muscle. Good air, good food, good, clean living are the secrets of my health." Joe Humphreys, manager of .Terry McGovern, Is huffy over tho calling off of the match between Bat. Nelson and "Terrible" Terry." which was done by Billy Nolan, the Dane's manager, re cently. Humphreys broke Into print with' the following: "I consider Nolan's action a deliber ate case of flunk. His action In de manding everything In the match shows plainly he was trying to dodge from the start. "In the first place the club only of fered 75 per cent of the gross receipts. I offered to take 32 and give him 43 per cent with the club to give 77 per cent if it cared to. In the latter case Nolan would get his 45 per cent. He prepared an agreement that called for a posting of $2000, but he Only posted $1500. I told him I would be In Phil adelphia Monday and would post my forfeit then if he would grant rae the courtesy of a few hours' wait, which I certainly shall do. and if he does not cover it the public will judge who is to blame for the match falling through. "I have asked Harry D. Neaf. of Troy, to me:t Nolan Monday at Albany and try to fix it up. McGovern Is.i anxious to fight Nelson and if be docs not it is not the Brooklyn boy's fault." Billy Nolan now comes forward with the statement that the real reason Bat ling Nelson dodged Terry .McGovern was because he did not come through with his forfeit money. This Is not a plausible excuse to those familiar with Nolan's methods of doing business. McGovern never balked before over a forfeit. Even if he were without funds himself, his manager. Sammy Harris, is fairly well supplied. Sammy is cer tainly as well heeled as Nolan, and has bet as much money on a fight as Nolan has in his lifetime. Nolan essayed to shake the club down for every dollar In sight, which the manager declined to allow him to do. This was undoubtedly the real reason the club declared the fight off. Now that Nelson has tossed off a chance to clean up a tidy stake fighting Terry six rounds, don't be thunder struck If Jimmy Britt Jumps In and does business with Terry. The little Californian knows a good thing without having a manager point it out to him. Jimmy Is now in New York, where the Philadelphia Club can readily commu nicate with him. Britt would be as big a card with McGovern as Nelson, for he never appeared In the ring East, while the champion fought a few six round bouts that were not especially brilliant. 'Possum and 'tater suppers Is the present pastime of Marvin Hart, who says he is the heavy-weight champion. Hart Is the boss coon and 'possum hunter of the Bardstown plks, 13 miles from Louisville. ' Assisted by his pretty wife. Hart gave a 'possum feast to all the nelgh bors' thereabouts the other night. "Marvelous" donned the white apron, carved the Juicy 'possum -and served his guests with heaping plates full of fried chicken and sweet potatoes. Between mouthfuls. Marvin said: "I can beat any pugilist in the world." Joe Walcotf, the welterweight cham pion, so a reporter from Boston says, has quit the ring-. Walcott claims he has fought US battles, and as he is get ting old he has come to the conclusion that it is time for him to retire while he Is still a champion. Walcott is liable to change his mind If he is of fered abont $500 for his end to beat a third-rater. INVENTS MOTOR BOATS. CoHstantial Startles the Parisians by Method or Traveling. Parisians were startled recently by seeing a big-booted man whizzing along the Avenue des Champs Ely sees and thence to the Bols de Boulogne at the rate of 25 miles aa hour. It was Constantlni, Inventor of motor boots, displaying his new footwear. The boots resemble tiny automobiles, 15 Inches long, fixed oti high beets. Each has four rubber-tired wheel eight inches in dlaaKter. Accuffwfaitors are aarrled la a belt. They trtuwatlt by wires one and one-fourth-horsepower to each motor. The motors can be run at a speed ranging from sis to 30 miles an hour. Each boot weighs 16 pounds, but as tho feet arc not lifted up, the weight does not matter. Constantlni claims, to have traveled several hundred miles with them. He Intends to travel from Paris to St, Petersburg on them- When asked what would" happen If one motor started at the rate of six miles an Hour and the other at the rate of 30 miles an hour, lie. became diffident and declined to dis cuss the subject. CLAIMS THE VICTORY. Swedish Team Contests Right of Americans to Championship. PORTLAND. Dec. 23. (To the Editor. In Justice to the Swedish team and the public, kindly admit the publication of the following facts In connection with the late tug-of-war tournament taking place at Merrill's Hall, December 4 to December 9. This tournament was organized by rep resentatives of eight nations and M. A, Planck and Fred Merrill, promoters. The programme was made up on the basis of eight teams, viz.: Each and every team to pull once every night, which would require seven days to complete the tour nament, or for every team to meet the others. The final pull to bo made on the last night of the tournament unless a tie occurred. Mr. Merrill was elected president of the association and to supervise and conduct tho advertising and to look after the ex pense account. Mr. Planck was elected manager of the tournament. Referees and judges were appointed by the president. Saturday night. December 4. the open ing night of the tournament, only four teanij. were present. United States. Sweden, Norway, Finland. The German team entered Monday night following. Tho other three teams never appeared. In view of the changed condition and realizing the inability to carry out the tournament as advertised, the captains of the teams taking part entered into a written agreement, which was signed by all the captains and the manager and reads as follows: "Portland. Or.. Dec. 6. 19(5. There now being five teams left in the Portland Tug-of-War Association to compete for the championship and the pennant to be given the team having the 1000 per cent to their credit In this tournament shall be declared the champions. "In order that wo will be able to fur nish more pulls and give the spectators more for their money, we. the under signed captains of our respective teams representing our nationality, do hereby agree to a time limit of 15 minutes, each team to meet the other, two or three time?, as the pulls may happen to bcr or as known 'the best two out of three. "It Is mutually agreed that these so called best two out of three pulls are not for the championship, as the time limit act has been changed and are not In accordance with the rules adopted at the beginning of this tournament." Tho last night of the tournament. De cember 0. the contest stood as follows: The Swedish team, 1000 per cent, having met and defeated all the teams In the tournament under the 25-ralnute rule adopted at the beginning of the tourna ment; tho United States team had met all except Germany, and had lost one contest to Sweden. Finland and Ger many had never met; Norway and Fin land had a tie to pull off. Nevertheless, the following contests were agreed on for thio the last night: Germany vs. Fin land; United States vs. Sweden (under the 15-mlnute agreement); Finland vs. Norway. When time was called for the contest between United States and Sweden, the referee and Judges and the United States teams refused to recognize the agreement concerning the 15-minutc pulls and In sisted that the Swedish team must pull the United States team for 25 minutes for the championship and the pennant,' wmcn tne swedisn team declined to do. Thereupon Mr. Merrill announced that as president of the association, acquiesced In by the referee and judges, the Swedish team had forfeited all rights In the tour nament by refusing to pull and declared them ruled out, whereupon the referee stated that the German team would take the place of the Swedish team to deride the championship. This pull lasted but two minutes, after which the German team let go the rope entirely and arose from the cleats and the United States team was declared the winner of the championship and the pennant by the referee. In conclusion permit me to ask by what authority and under what rules and regulations wa3 'this decision made? The writer was Informed by judges that their decision was based on the general rules governing baseball 'and billiard tourna mcnts with which they were familiar. A. SVENSH. ALL WISH THE GAME CHANGED Colleges of Country Join in Desire to Eliminate Brutality. PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 23. The circular sent out recently by tho University of Pennsylvania through Its committee on athletics with the view of systematizing athletic rules. ha3 brought a large number of replies, many of them from renresenta tlve state universities and a still greater number from colleges and schools. In the circular, the Important questions were: First The possible adoption of a simple ana unirorm eligibility code, so as to avoid unseemly squabbles between Institutions. Second The elimination of brutal and foul play. Third The change of "playing rules," so as to minimize danger. The suggestions contained in the replies to the circular have been referred to the rules committee of the Athletic Associa tion of the Lniverslty of Pennsylvania. Unreserved approval of the Increased pen alties proposed for brutality and foul play was expressed In a large majority of the replies and approved with certain modifi cations In nearly all of the remainder. As a whole, the eligibility roll was cor dially commended In more than three fourths of the replies. The replies so far received Indicate a widespread Interest In the subject, and are regarded as an Indi cation of the desire among universities and colleges to reach an, agreement re garding college sport. The desirability of the cultivation of the spirit described by President Roosevelt to Dr. William White, chairman of the athletic committee of the University of Pennsylvania as that which underlies agreements In sport was em phasixed In the replies. Answers contain ing assurances of approval or valuable criticism are arriving In large numbers, and a further report will be made in the new year. O'BRIEN MAY HAVE FIGHT Match Being Arranged With Hart or Ryan at Philadelphia. MINNEAPOLIS. Dec 23. (SpeciaL) The East is looking for a battle between O'Brien and Hart or Ryan. Tom O'Rourka the veteran promoter. last night wired the fighters, now in Minneapolis, asking If either. of them would meet O'Brien at the Tuexdo Club, aear Philadelphia, in a -reanu go, the latter part O-r Januarr. Ryaa wired. O'Rourke in reply that Hart weatd aaeet O'Brien at catch weights, or uat ne we-Qia meet crimen at the nsld-dls-welsht Kmlt. 154 pounds. He has ia-strueted- O'Rearke that he must pest a forfeit for tbe club, as a. "teltea" ef abil ity to pull 9& tbe Wut RIFLE PRACTICE ON Oregon National Guardsmen Are Interested. PRIZES FOR BEST SHOTS Many of the Younger Men Are Show ing Great Proficiency at the Targets, Making Exceed ingly High Scores. Increased interest is noticeable in the indoor rifle practice now being held under the auspices of the Third In fantry, O. N. G.. for there are new com petitors entering the shoot every even ing. Most of the additions to the corps of marksmen como from the new re cruits who have lately Joined the guard, and the showing being made by them is highly gratifying to tho offi cers in charge of the range. The regimental officers have made up a purse of $100 to.be distributed among the members of the guard making the highest scores during the season. This is done as an incentive to the old members of the guard to join tho dif ferent squads, and also to add to the Interest of the younger element, who. as a rule, join the shooting- squads as soon as they become enrolled on the company's rosters. Becoming Quite Proficient. Many of the younger element at the targets are becoming- quite proficient as marksmen, and Sergeant Schwarz of K company, who is In charge of the range work of that body, says ho ha3 several youngsters among his squad that promise to secure sharpshooters trophies. The scores made by the various teams competing in the shoot at Sea Girt, N. J., have just been issued in official form by the War Department, which contains the complete report of Brigadier-General W. P. Hall, U. S. A., who was In charge of the shoot. General Hall, in his report, highly commends the Governors of the various states that were represented at the tourna ment. In the National competition 37 teams participated. Of these five were from the permanent establishments, 30 from the states, one from Hawaii and one from the District of Columbia. The Oregon delegation, under com mand of Adjutant-General W. E. Fin zer, O. N. G., finished twenty-second In the list of competing teams. Scores by Oregon Team. The scores made by the Oregon team follow: s a 22 I 3 tj 1 n ? a S" E : - ? UZ S3 141 368 115 65 97 277 148 70 07 31.1 106 52 78 236 106 SO 117 30- t 126 So OS 31ll 154 81 136 371 133 78 112 323 138 2 140 3C3 151 83 124 354 155 80 111 35 155 63 ICS! 331 NAME. E. G. "Weldon, F. 3d Reg... F. B. Hamlin.-1st Bat G. E Houck. 1st Bat....... F. G. Stewart. 1st Bat A. B. Morris. 1st Bat R. I . Perdew. let Bat lt. s. jacKson, 1st .Bat B. H. Fisher. 1st Bat A. A. Schwartz, K. 3d Reg. A. J. Royle. 3d Re? R. White. M. 3d Reg U. S. Rider. M. 3d Reg. The success of this team m the shoot at Sea Girt has added materially to the interest being manifested in target practice at the Armory, and many mem bers of the guard intend to try for places on the team that will represent Oregon in the shoot next Summer. The coming- shoot will probably be held at Fort Riley. Kan., and all the state or ganizations have been extended an in vitation to participate. Division of Prizes. The regimental prize of $100 will be divided thus: High man, $10; next ten men, $5 each; next ten, $2.50, and the other $15 will bo awarded in prizes for pistol practice. Sergeant A. A. Schwarz, of Iv com pany, one of the best shots in tho regi ment, is one of the most enthusiastio members of the militia, and takes great pride In work on the rifle range. He is always on hand to coach the young men and under "his instruction, to gether with Captain R. O. Scot, K company is fast developing a crack rifle team. The other companies are waking up to this fact, and renewed activity on the range is In evidence all along the line. The following scores were'mado in a challenge competition last week: , CT Z3 3 3 J 8 v v v 9 NAME. a c. c. c. 7 y anas. Sgt. A. A. Schwarz.... 24 25!" 251 23! 39 CapU R. O. Scott 24 23! 47 Private Gus Eschle 22 231 45 Ann. X. F. McCormlck .. 24 25 ..s 19 Shoot Nearly Every Night. The different companies shoot every night in the week except Saturday and Sunday, and each Is apportioned ac cording to drill nights. A noncommis sioned officer from each organization is delegated as range officer by his captain, and it is his duty to look af ter the instruction of the men in this particular line. Sergeant J. F. McCormlck. armorer of the Third Regiment, was the recipient of a token of the esteem In which he Is held by the members of F company last Tuesday evening, and on behalf of the company was presented with a handsome cap by Sergeant Crouch. PJans are now being discussed for the big indoor athletic tournament to be held under the auspices of the Third Infantry. O- N. G., next month, the details of which will be completed within the next few days. The meet will consist of running, jumping, vault ing, tent-pitching, wail-scaling, regi mental races, and other games familiar to the soldier. Exhibition of PooI-PlaylBgv The members of the Commercial Club were treated to a clever exhibition of pool playing by A- O. Anderson, cham pion pool player of the world, who executed many clever shots for the benefit of those who assembled, at the parlors yesterday afternoon. The "ex hibition consisted of the massing-of the balls in suck a manner that he would: put from six to ten or more bails in the pockets with one shot. The execution of each diAcult shot met with a hearty round, of apptauee from the spectators. At' the ceaclMtea ef the exhibition, th expert played an exhibition awate wita JE. J. JeKrey.