New-York tribune., 1905-12-27
STOP FOOTBALL A YEAR.
PRESIDENT ELIOT'S CURE.
RaIes Committee Arrmgned-Many
+ Colleges TO Confer.

President Eliot Of Harvard has declared hlIh-
relf in favor Of stopping intercollegiate footoal
for one year in order that the game may be
modified ara a reasonable game devised and
demonstrated in practice He expressed his
views in letter to Chancellor MacCracken OF
Nev-Yorl, University in replying TO an invita-
1ion 10 Harvard TO attend the conference of COL
leges on football TO be held at the Murray Hill
Hotel tomorrow. President Eliot after saying
that the invitation had been referred TO the fac
ulty committee on athletics, added:
I avail myself OF this op portunity to tell you
that my own belief is that intercollegiate tool-
hall should be stopped for one year, SO that tne
individual colleges may demonstrate In pracuCe:
each on its own grounds, a reasonable game OF
football. There seems to he a wellnigh universal
consent that the present game is intolerable, and
surely this is q great Improvement in the con-
6Ition Of public sentiment
For myself find il i1p ossible to believe thar
the committees, coaches and umpires who nave
ruined the game are to be trusted with its re-
form or replacement The, experts IN the rulneo
game are not the persons should select TO az
t-fse about the selection o. creation or subSti-
fute The fundamental difficulty with the pres
ent game is the bad spirit in which II Is pIaSeu,
To get rid Of this vicious spirit think we must
stop intercollegiate football for time. On the
whole therefore I favor separate action by the
individual colleges. and not conferences and
conventions or other attempts to continue H.
tercollegiate football under new regulations.
This statement accounts. perhaps. for the de-
lay in Harvard declaring herself on the question
of football reform and for the two postpone
lnents in the meeting of the rules COMMITTEES at
the request of Harvard. There is plainly dif-
ference Of opinion among Harvard men as to
4he best means to reform the game and in view
of President Eiiot's letter it would not be sur
prisfng if Harvard should take stand only
degree less radical than that OF Columbia
DR.. EIiot's arraig gument Of the rules commit
fee is of a scathing nature With coaches and
urnpires. he holds IT responsible for running the
game end would advise against having the same
rnen work out its salvation If the committee
appointed at Harvard 10 decide what attitude
should be taken at Cambridge on the subject
knows of President EIots views, doubt
It does, it is not surprising that IT has taken
SO long to define and announce its position.
The intercollegiate conference 20 discuss the
fate Of football and as is generally supposed. to
aupoint 3 rules committee VIII be held at the
Murray Hill Hotel tomorrow
It win be formidable In size and national in
character, even though the football rank Of most
Of its constituents is somewhat open to oues-
tio7 Colleges from every section will be repre-
sented, Including far West as Leland
Stanford Of California, and as far South as
Vanderbilt University. Of Tennessee, None OF
the colleges represented on the present rules
committee will send delegates, but Harvard.
through Professor White. chairman Of its fac
1lty committee on athletics. has expressed its
svnpathv with the movement Professor White
wrote as follows:
May say personally that inability to be
represented does not imply any lack of SYM
conference? Harvard. however, is taking up the
question tand working 1t out at present In Its
own way, and for this reason it is deemed in
advisable TO be actively involved in other similar
undertakings
The University of Minnesota is the only one
of the Western "big nine" likely to be repre-
scented at the conference. The president Of the
University of Iowa, in reply TO the invitation 70
attend. wrote follows:
We belong to the Western conference, and
are under pact TO comply with the rules 1t may
promugate. It would not be honorable for US
90 make other alliances while holding to this.
Dean Judson, of the University Of Chicago,
which IS represented the old football rules
committee by A. A. Stagg, wrote some days ago:
am not prepared at this time to say whether
the university can be represented or not We
are considering carefully the subject of improve
1nents in intercollegiate football. We have not
yet. however, reached a final ground Of action
] shall communicate with you later as to what
the university is prepared 10 do.
Chancellor MacCracken does not expect Chi
cago TO be represented In addition to the
twelve colleges forming the inviting body, fifty
TWO colleges have already accepted the invita-
fion. and a majority have named their dele
gates. Lehigh, Lafayette and Amherst, which
refused the Invitations to the former confer
ence, are among those who have decided to be
present tomorrow. Following is full list Of
the colleges TO be represented. with the names
Of the delegates who have so far been appointed:
Allegheny College President Crawford; Am
herst. DR.. Paul c. Phillips; Beloit College: Wis
consin, Professor Z. c. Smith; Buchtel College,
Ohio Butler College, Indiana z. r Wingard;
Case School of Applied Science, Cleveland, Pres
3dent Charles E Howe; Carleton College, Min
nesota, L. N Wood; Columbia, Professor NJ. T.
Bogert; Colorado College, Dean F9Orian Cajori;
College Of the City Of New-Yorlz. Professor Will
iam Stratford; Colgate, President Merrill;
Creighton College, John T. Smith; Dickinson
College, President George F. Reed Fordham,
Francis O'Neill; Franklin and Marshall, George
Washington University Grove City College.
Pennsylvania. Haverford, Holy Cross. Professor
2. A. Rousseau; Kentucky State College w. B.
Burt; Lafayette, Lehigh. Leland Stanford, Pro-
fessor Max Farrand Manhattan College Pro-
fessor Thomas; Maryland Agricultural College
Miami University. Niagara University, Presi-
dent J. J. Maher; oberlin Professor Charles w
tecfnic Institute Professor J. G. Murdock; ST.
Johns Annapolis. Professor B. Vernon; ST.
Lawrence University. President a. Gunnison;
Swarthmore. Syracuse, Professor Henry A.
Peck; Union University of Colorado Professor
william Duane; University of Minnesota. DR..
Williams; University Of Cincinnati, Dean J. E.
Harry; University Of Missouri. Professor C. w.
Hetherington; University of st. Louis. Univer-
# Norfl Carolina FNfoaT der.