The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-07-12
WILL GO DESPITE PROTEST.
THAT'S WHAT ATLANTA's RIFLE
MEN SEEM DETERMINED TO Do.

Declares the Action of the Team
in Refusing to shoot Again at Sea
Girt, "HardIy SpOrtsmanlike."
Statement Excites Indignation
Here, Where 1t I. Regarded as
Hardly Sane"-C0l. George It.
Cam Says He VIII Exceedingly
Regret the Contamination of the
Plan.
If an article in the Atlanta Journal re-
Gently represents the attitude of Allan
tans, who are contemplating sending a
team of marksmen to Sea Girt, the local
members of the Georgia team are agreed
that Atlanta conception of what is or ie
not sportsmanlike is one of the wierdest
products of the century's latter end.
This action on Savannah's part is
hardly spo4 tsmanlike," says the Journal
story, referring to the protest flied by the
members of the team who have ilustrat-
ed Georgia for the past five years at Sea
Girt, against a team being sent from The
state after the manner in which the state
was treated in the matter of the Hi to-
trophy, and quoting an Albanian who Is
said to have been present on that occas-
ion.
Then comes the Atlanta Interpretation
of the code obtaining among sportsmen
upon which this statement Is based THE
Georgians charged fraud in the target pit
and that there was fraud there would
seem to be no room for doubt but we
do not believe that the Jerseymen, as an
organization, were cognizant of the
fraud
Neither. by the same token, has Savan-
nah ever charged tho Jerseymen with
fraud. On the contrary the officers of
the team expressly repudiated the idea
of making any charges whatever against
the association or the range officers, d.
recting the evidence at their disposal,
ana it was Overwhelmingly abundant, at
the markers in the pits. Their quarrel
with the association under whose aus
plces the matches at Sea Girt take place
is founded on the fact that their every
effort to secure justice, from the time the
first charge was made, was delayed. hin
dered and finally denied. This in the face
Of the fact, admitted by every unpreju-
DICE observer from other states and even
by an Albanian. quoted in the Journal,
who was member of the Georgia team,
that that there was fraud there would
seem to he no room for doubt"
lie OOOl bdl d. Oit-Ie Is luudtSly put,
to say the least of it, and Savannah men
were indignant when they read it. That
the action of a dozen or more reputable
citizens of Savannah, most of whom are
officers in the state service, including the
state inspector of rifle practice,
men who enjoy the respect OF
every one here. whose acquaint-
ance with the ethics of rifle shoot
ing and the laws of sport as well as The
f.rSs1a hot nIt ir5
not be questioned, should be characterized
by member of the Georgia team as
hardly sportsmanlike" is not pleasing to
them.
Col. George T. Cam, state inspector gem
eral of rife practice and a leading member
of the Georgia team at Sea Girt for a
number of years, when seen by a Morn
ing News reporter expressed his regret at
The appearance of the article
The team that loSt the Hilton trophy,
through unfair work in the pits repre-
scented Georgia in every sense of the term"
said Col Cam. 1T was selected from
those who went on to Sea Girt from va
rious points in this state, after contests
at the targets. The correctness of the
position IL assumed, the thoroughly court
eous manner in which its contentious were
pressed, the absolute lack of vituperation
of the range officers or the New Jersey
of the case throughout are approved by
every man who is at once unprejudiced
and familiar with the facts. The evidence
we offered was positive direct and over
whelming. We presented it in the assur-
ance that we would receive justice and
when Justice was denied us we determined
not to appear again on the range. In this
determinat ton there is nothing unsports-
manlike, nor can 1t be made SO by mere
assertion"
Hover err" continued Col. Cam. "tha
our ac.ion is unsportsmanlike is asserted
by the NV Jersey officials in charge of
the ranges at Sea Girt. That, of course
is matter of op mon and eeos1 Apply, hut
1 should gret exec dinghy to Sc the
side of New Jersey upheld and the side
Of Georgia besmirched and dlscredited by
team of Georgia men. When consider
that his action was taken by us in con-
sideratton Of what we esteemed a proper
regard for the dignity of the entire state,
my surprise is increased; when l be hink
myself that the movement to send a team
originates n a city, one of whose citizens
was debarred the range and absolutely
attacked in his integrity by the executive
c1mmtt ZEE of the New Jersey State Rifle
Association, I am amaz, a.
Il saw Capt Hope, of the Governors
Horse Guard, the organization that con-
the team 10 sea Glrt,
when / was in Atlanta, a few days ago."
said Col. Cam. When he tod me what
his troop thought of doing / endeavored
to dissuade him, using arguments of
which he admitted the justice, His only
argument in reply was that the troop
desired to defend the carbine trophy that
1t W n last year.
Il pointed out to Capt. Hope that if his
team went to Sea Girt one of two things
would happen. Either the New Jersey
team would make no effort to win the
Hilton trophy, saying they were willing
Georgia should have 1t, and the victory,
II won, would be barron one, or else
they would draw into their team marks
men from anywhere and everywhere,
whether they were members of the New
Jersey National Guard or not. That they
would do this in the future l am conf
dent because OF what l know them to
have done in the past. also pointed out
10 Capt. Hope that to discredit the action
of the Georgia team would be to aid the
association that had not given us justice
and the purity Of our motives"
The article in the Journal says the At
lanta team has about decided to go to Sea
Girt, and that no attention will be paid
to the protest of the Savannah team. In
the team that shot for the Hilton trophy
Savannah was represented by eleven men
and Atlanta by one. Some Savanna hans
are mean enough to say that the anmus
Of the Atlanta project lies in the hope that
with Savannah out of it, Atlanta will get