Daily Kennebec journal., 1897-01-13
A DISMAL FAILURE.
The Home Referees Dead Load for Pal.
in Maine.

foio mas mad good start here in Maine
out IL IL Is to have a prosperous winter
the sooner the home referee idea is
apahdoned the better. 1t requires an out
side man OF no little decision and honesty
oi purpose TO resist the opportunities of
Il nome crowd. What then must be their
erect on "A home man who is himself one
OF the boys" who are backing with
money or influence a home team?
When crowd of out of town people
visit city to witness a polo game in
which their own immediate localities
are not represented; when they see the
visitors play a superior game to the home
team, beating them fairly by clean. hard
work, and then are treated to the spec
tacle of a home referee passing over the
victory to his own defeated team, in de-
iiance of rules of justice and the plain
obvious facts of the game, when they go
nome TO their various localities absolute
~ unanimous in their opinion that they
had seen steal and not polo game
does it, can it help the game? We think
not.
Let those who have attended the New
England League base ball games
during the past two years reflect
Tor moment what would have
been the status of those splendid con-
| tests if they had been presided over by
home umpires? How long could the
games have continued on that basis? Even
when the most experienced unbiased, and
skilful umpires that could be found in
New England were secured they were
| not always successful in getting the cred
1t their work deserved, and We're very
| often the victims of unmerited abuse and
criticism. The fact remained, however,
| and the crowd was always conscious of
| it way underneath" that these men
were free from all tincture of local preju-
dice, and the fact lent an interest and
| zest to the games they would not other
wise have had.
| An out of town crowd at a local sport
ing event is always inclined to be judicial
and to be great sticklers for fair play.
The home crowd is usually composed of
| two elements. The win anyway" fellows
and the"win fairly or not at all men. The
latter,in our Maine cities, usually out
number the former. They are "cranks''
for their home team; they cheer Justify
for all it's good plays; they rejoice. with
an exceeding great joy, in its victories;
| but they insist that the visiting team
| shall have, at all times, "a fair show.
| Unless the games are conducted fairly.
| such men soon lose their interest and de-
sert them.
Now no referee is infallible All are liza
BILE to errors A home referee, however
is very apt to turn his blind eye on the
fouls made by the home team, and use
the other-with powerful magnifying
monocle-to note the fouls. made by the
visitors. When this is done it straightway
kills all the pleasure in the game for oul
of-town visitors, and for all the fair
minded lovers of sport among the home
patrons If persisted in it soon kills the
game. Therefore gentlemen of the Maine
polo league, we eXhort you to consider wise
ly and well.i in these halcyon days of pros
Il perty the very great advisability of Sc
curing, without delay, competent. Impair
tial out-of-to referees. If polo fushe,
out in Maine this winter the home refer.
eeS will be responsible for it.