The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-01-12

repeated safety playing. Regulations were
adopted which provided that should 4 play
er make two deliberate safety plays III slic-
CessiOn he ~forfSitS one point. or rs many
as the number OF successive safety plays
that he registers. Spectators bsc0me dis
gusted with a surfeit of safety PLAYING. and
these regulations We're framed with the OK
press idea of putting more lie :IcD The
game. In Chicago tournaments. when more
than the requisite number Of players eX-
press 4 desire To enter, all are given 4
chance. but should any player lose his first
three games he is dropped from the tOural-
ment.
Friends of Frank Petersen are urging hin
to take part in the class y tournament &c
last years class A affair MIR. Petersen
stated that he would not appear in the
class a tournament this year. If he adj
heres to this resolve, an interesting factor
in the tournament will be removed. as
Petersen gave everybody with whom he
practicinG almost Ca.ly, but he mas Eot
fully decided TO enter the tournament.
I H"1bt5 Nela md T Frank wr Benson aro cl am5Ss
those who will enter.
The months following the holiday season
generally bring about a reaction In a great
many enterprises, but Eot so in billiards.
The rush of the holiday seas1n with its
pressing engagements kept many away from
the game, but the local par-ors are Eow
thronged each day from noon until MD
niSht. In billiards especially is this brisk
ness noticeable. During the first months of
ant, more pool was played in ST. Louis han
for several seasons past. In the verracuiar,
pool has taken more or less OF 4 lack
seat To be sure it has its followers. but
they are not as numerous as they were
earlier in the season. The French pool toLr-
nament -inaugurated by Frank Bsnsrn and
n number of continuous pool matches be-
tween local and oUt-of-towu sNper.S kept
the game booming for awhile. but wa the
advent Of cold weather billiards claimed its
followers. However, the pool players viii
be entertained by a number of pool matches
and tournament which are beng planned.
Frank E nson is neg 5tiating for another
floor for his Broadway establishment and
has announced that he Will lnauS-ratc /
continuous pool tournament. Ths tourn'-
ment will be a handicap affair. which will
give the amateurs a chance to cnIn.ete on
even terms with the more skill players
Manager Ed Mack of Hauser's IS IN c,rre-
sp-ndence with a number of pool PLAYERS Of
bring them tcgether in ST. Louis for a
tournament.
Albert Boswell OF the Milwaukee Sentinel,
i'll q review IF sport for the year Just ended,
grows rather p~essimistic over the TACT that
billiards is on the decline. He believes that
work and says the youngsters are improving
slowly. Appended is a part OF the article:
billiards is one of the few sports that
has suffered a serious decline during tine
year JUS. end=d. This is true not only in
Milwaukee. but all over the country, and
the only explanation offered By managers
bowling are taking up all the time Z nan
wh1 in former years played billiards al
most daily.
The owness of all the games in tra re-
cent eighteen-inch balk-line tournament in
New York is sill the topic of conversation
in local billiard circles. Close students #
everything pertaining to billiards cirque that
the old t0p-notch exs5rts are ia ling off in
their play, and. that in sp.te of this fact,
the Youngsters are not improving fast
to hurry Schaefer or Slcsson along.
Taking the high runs, high and general
averages in the games played four or five
years ago and comparing them with those
is +, ind II decrease in speed of about Ia in
the percentage in the matter OF high inns
ard fully 80 in the percentage on high av-
eragcs. There is no getting away from the
fact that billiards is an uncertain game:
still; il is but reasonable 10 suppose that
after dabblinS in the game for over four