The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-05-27
BILLIARDS " ENGLAND.
Lively Discussion in Progress. Regarding Anna
tPur PLAYERS

What constitutes an amateur billiard
player" Is n subject which is being widely
discussed in England just now. The DIM
Guilty has arisen over n Chalieng" from a player
named Chrvsty Wisdom. who holds the Eng
lish championship. y. l.. Jackson, u we'll
known authority on the siN-pOCket game,
writes as follows
An extraordinary feature Of amateur sport
is the apathy shown nv those who taxi" m
active part in il in all that pertains to ius man
aQerneat, In football the amateurs might
stfl have retained the control of the game
had they not been SO indifferent to their III
terests. Cycle racing has fallen away from
its high estate, chiefly because of the absence
Of that sporting instinct which T. a charac-
trristic of the true amateur. and which would
have prevented every race from degeneratnng
into funeral march with a one-lap sprint.
AT cricket and rowing the amateurs are
somewhat more energetic and the interest
taken in their doings Is proportionately greater
than In less favored sports The apathy Of
which | complain Is not confined TO out-of-
door games. for II Is COn~piCuou> IN COuIeC-
tion with billiards. the amateur Champion
ship nj which ia Plr" and unadult"rat"d
farce Originally run br billiard table manu-
i~aCtArer> who even framed The rule, Of IA"
tho Billiard hs-oc'ation. which cannot be recog-
niYcd a. an amateur organization
IL il well known that thcre ar" bona fdo
amateurs who COnld CIV" 3nN in 1000 to the re-
nut"d amateur champion. but those will have
nothing to do with a competition which has
permitted an eX-bllard marker To hold the
cham, NOHsiip. and allow zoe" entries of rub
lranS who POSSESS public billiard tables. and
are more often than not simply master
markers instead Of emf luv''. II l. Ua'ur-
turat" FOR thr game, FROM an amateur rot,'
OF view. that tho chief -'u Ial 'Irh. Of IuIGuu de-
not combine aud take ihn matter m hand An
amateur cham 'ousn'F u't"r the aust ices ol 4
,uiu' committee formed ~ representatives, Of
thr-r clubs would. doubtless, insure th"ontrv
the interest ia which would be- little less than
those In which the crack players taxi" part Not
that there Hr' any ANA ours who aptroHchiu
Skill tho best professional "NI pn"u'~ or 'h"
game. lint would ho almost IuIp~-,hl". for
no one whose living wits nut dru"m1"Ut uIortt
would devote m" enorWuua ru" and rar" u"',~-
sarV 10 develop even ~" most prom l~IuE mt
ural player into 4 hr~t-rif.s performer
IN ihS country the \. \. | has nov 'akan
amateur billiards under H. wings and for two
which have attracted tho very best amateur
players in the country. in all th"lHrCe cit'-
ikp pastiina has received a great boom. Tor
which the influence Of th" \. \. | il largely
responsible. II must be confessed, however,
that the \. 4 I. il not very strict IN the intor-
pretation Of It's definition ~ m amateur. MANY
of the contestants in the recent championships
bore records which were not Of IN" bet. bat
the \. 4. I. ahsolvnd them 81 all rast sins bv
s,mIlv "reinstating them. Parhar- tho NJ
%thurities were governed hv the belief thar :
was best N be y little len'on' toward tho "rring
hut that the interest In the snort has grown
amazingly during the past two wears and un-
BIASED observers believe that the A. A. U. Il \
responsible for that increased interest J