Evening journal., 1908-05-26

pop" CLOWARD DOES SOME SCORING
IN THAT POLO CONTROVERSY

and expect to retain the respect Of an
audience Interested in clean sport. In
baseball, we understand. that If team
refuses to abide by the decision Of the
referee and leave the game, the fine
is $1,000 and on second offense, expul-
sion.
We could not fine the team, but we
Expelled them from roller POLO on any
floor that We control, and that decision
lis final.
AS business men we cannot afford to
run the risk of inviting people TO Wit
ness sport and be uncertain as to
whether we can fulfill 1t is not
game Of dolls with us, but business.
We are endeavoring to conduct the
business Of roller polo for the purpose
lof making money and this fact, hurled
at us by people who do not agree with
lour policies, does not hurt our feelings
The gentlemen who engage in the
lgame are supposed to be amateurs, in
the sense that they cannot accept Pay
for their services. which fact raises
their standard of moral obligation to
the public and TO the persons who as
sumo the business risks that make
challenge Captain Henry and his as
sociate i'm letter writing, to state sin
lgle instance in which we have failed
TO give them every courtesy personal
support and consideration consistent
with the situation. We do not propose
to argue I'm this article the question
as TO whether Greenwood should have
submitted TO the personal assault Of
| Creamer like a ninny or try to knock
his block off his shoulders, like a man.
We expelled the l-Wilmington team
for laying down." quitting And Cap
tain Henry and his associate in letter
WRITING dare not deny that they were
! given three chances I'm the lobby to
finish the game, and absolutely refused
which fact can be testified to by two
or three hundred persons, witnesses to
lour controversy and the vast audience
knows that we called for them from
the center OF the floor twice, 20 appear
land finish the game and II was not
until they had delayed the game some
lhfteen minutes and had been given
these opportunities to continue playing
I"slaughter house." that we announced
ltheir expulsion.
And there they stood. like dying
lgladiators, waiting for what? Captain
Henry and his associate in letter
writing say they We're ready to come
on the floor until we made the threat
of expulsion. What had changed them?
Were they beginning TO feel the storm
of disapproval which was lowering
over them? Were they getting
ASHAMED? or was the real sporting
blood of the captain beginning to ass
| isert itself, despite the arguments Of
| his associate In letter writing, and the
Iplcadings of Creamer not to sacrifice
lhim on the altar of guilt. We believe
land say so publicly, that had not his
associate i'm letter writing butted i'm
$50 strcnuously. that Captain Henry
would have met the issue, and when
1.-THE game was called by the referee,
lone man would have been at the All
lWilmingtons goal. ready to finish the
contest And we do not mean to infer
THAT the team would not have followed.
we have heard from good authority
that Henry had said that he had to
stand by his team" That has been the
treason why the Wilmington team
has been losing caste in the game for
a year past The captain stood by his
team Cor some of them) instead Of
forcing them TO stand by tho captain.
Mr. Lukens. the associate I'm letter
WRITING. signs as manager of the team,
land we presume the team recognizes
him as such, but in all our dealings in
the arrangements and carrying out OF
ithis contest, we never knew him in
the matter. the captain assuming all
responsibilities. The statement signed
Ihv Mr. Henry, and his associate in L.
wv, says that 1T was not the intention
lof our team to convey the idea Of lay
ing down" II was no idea" we faced
lin the issue. hut a fact so evident that
mot even a hen would care TO emulate
liz on a hard wood floor. for fear Of
breaking the thin shell. AS a rink
management. we should have, in the
Interest of clean sport. and TO avoid
lneedlessly risking the lives of all the
lmen engaged in the game, objected to
the well-known rough house play of
1.-The All-Wilmington team, but the
Springs men preferred 10 allow these
lmen to play their own game. and de-
spite all the rough tactics, rely on skill