The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-02-16
Looking Al The 5. 7. 4. 4.
 From z 1l1O Vielp Points
BY HUGH W. ROBERTS.

From the comme ments and criticisms in spired by the recent argumnet of The Age-Herald against the existence of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic associa- ton fl is evident that there is a marked division of opinion as to the ffectiveness and good influence of that athletic union. The strongest champion of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic association is Percy H. Whiting, the well-known sport ing editor of the Atlanta Georgian In a recent issue of that paper, in the criticism of The AgeHerald's argument and the promulgation of his own ideas. two columns are devoted.
 In justice to MT. Whiting his argument Is reproduced. It's beginning is as fol- lows:
 That there are two sides to every. question we will all admit. But some times we can't see but one.
 Our present visual difficulty is in seeing the arguments against the South ern Intercollegiate Athletic association, especially those that have been put for ward by Hugh w. Roberts of the B.r- mingham Age-Herald since Alabama an- nouneed that it wished to retire from the
  s. l. A. A.
 50, to be fair we give a boiled down version of MT. Roberts recent articles on the subject"
 After this introduction there follows the argument of The Age-Herald to the effect that the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic association, having shown it's worthlesness, it's unwieldiness and gen eral effectiveness, should be dismem- bered. Then MT. Whiting resumes.
 'Now this is the way it looks to us:
 Until Alabama gives some satsfac- tory explanation of why it left the S. 1. A. A. 1t must expect the suspicion that it left because it did not care to comply with the rules of the S. l. A. A. that force a college to play only genuine amateurs on it's teams. It has long been suspected that some of these rules for the preserva- tion of amateurism were galling to Ala bama.
 You have to admit that thesS. I. A. A. stands for athletic decency. So if col lege leaves it, without good cause, tt seems aimed toward amateur anarchy.
 'If Alabama is waiting for a union in which all the colleges are of absolutely equal strength 1t will wait forever.
 
 both Vanderbilt and Virginia would not exist. The former stands for strict rules in regard to amateurism. The latter does not, unless it has recently experienced a change of heart.
 "A seven-team football league sounds attractive, but somehow this league busi- ness has never worked out in football and never seems likely to. The point in footban Is not to play for a champion ship and never has been.
 1.-The S. I. A. A. may not be as wedy or effective as it's supporters would wish. But since the division of the associa- tion into districts 1t has grown much more wieldy. And no fair-minded man will deny that it is growing more efficient and doing more each year than the past one toward purifying athletics.
 "Also, just by way of general denial, Vanderbilt and Sewanee tso we are re- liably informed) did not threaten to leave the $. l. A. A. If they did not get what they wanted at the recent meeting
 Roberts inconsistency is shown in the sentence where he roasts the nefarious' one-year rule in the opening of a sentence and Vanderbilt and Sewanee standing against it in another If 1t was nefari- ous (which same we don't beieve) why
 
 "The point that with Vanderbilt and Sewanee out of 1t the s. l. A. A college would fight for first place is joke. It would simply be for first place among the second raters.
 '"ro put Tech, Georgia and Clemson in a league of second rate football teams would be like asking the Atlanta baseball club to go into the Cotton States league. we believe that Georgia, Clemson and Tech agreed that they would rather fight vainly for good positions in the first class than to be the whole show in the second"
 From the perusal of Mir Writings article, the readers will be reminded of the introductory sentence: That there are two sides to every question, we will all admit. But sometimes we. can see but one.".
 It is pretty evident that MT Whiting sees but the one side. He Is a staunch supporter of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic association, and seldom has 1t done anything or failed to do anything, which met with his dsapproval.
 But taking up his argument, section by section, the following thoughts suggest themselves:
 MT. Whiting states that Alabama must be subjected to the suspicion that 1t de- sires to evade the laws preserving anna teurism in southern colleges, and fol lows this unfair deduction by stating that it has long been suspected that some of these laws were galling to Alabama. Such deduction and such a declara- ton are unfair and uncalled for. In America man or thing, for that mat ter. is considered innocent until proved otherwise, and there has never been al scintilla of evidence that any of the laws of the s. I. A. A. have been broken by Alabama
 Alabama has never stated it's reasons for withdrawal, but there are thousands