Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-03-25
WILL FORM POLO TEAM GREAT BANANA TRUST
lOfcers and Men at Fort Has Built Up Immense Trade
Myer Enthusiastic. in Few Years.
ITO HAVE PRACTICE FIELD towns ITS OWN STEAMERS
Plantations Cover Half Million
plane Shed Acres Of Land.
WILL PLAY ON MONUMENT LOT CAPITAL $30000O00
and Has
to Engage in Contests start-some Big Figures
Officers and Men at Fort
Myer Enthusiastic.
TO HAVE PRACTICE FIELD
Grounds Located Southeast of Aero
plane Shed.
WILL PLAY ON MONUMENT LOT
Clubs in New York, Philadelphia
and Baltimore Express Readiness
to Engage in Contests.

| Work has been begun at Fort Myer on
field for the polo practice ground. This
| revival of interest in the game means that
| for the army at any rate the change of
administration has brought no let-down in
strenuosity. The officers at Fort Myer
have been anxious for two years past to
organize polo team, but Col Hatfield
| commandment of the post up to the re-
! cent transfer of the 18th to the Philip
| pines was not much of polo enthusi-
| asst. This was or was not shortcom-
ing in the commanding officer according
| TO the view the different officers took of
| 1t. Some of them, more particularly the
elder men, said they did not believe much
in polo as means of training. Some of
the younger ones snorted and declared
I that az there was no official mention of
polo in the battle of Ticonderoga and 1t
| is not mentioned as having assisted in
/ the capture of Stony Point that was
4 enough TO condemn it in the eyes of offi
GERS who recognized no more modern
authority than the records OF the rebel
| lion.
With the coming of Col. Gerard to the
post different sentiment prevailed, and
II has just been arranged that prac-
| tice field shall be leveled at the fort
where the officers and men can train for
the matches that are bound to come off
|
and number Of out-of-town clubs which
have signified their readiness for the
game.
| Plenty Of Polo Enthusiasts.
| There are thrty-hve officers and men
in one battery now at the fort who are
either embryo players or experts All OF
| them are enthusiasts and it is thought
there will be no trouble in recruiting a
formidable team from the material at
| the post.
| There was a polo team at the Chevy
| Chase Club a good many years ago, but
| IL went by the board and is only just
| being reorganized. The War Depart
ment has laid out a field south of the
Monument near the speedway. 1t is on
d little tongue of land surrounded on
| three sides by water. and is likely to be
| cool at almost any time. 1t is here
| that the match games between the teams
| from the fort and Chevy Chase will be
| played.
Out-of-Town Clubs Ready.
There are good polo clubs III New
| York. Philadelphia and Baltimore. All
| of them have been in correspondence
| with Washington and have expressed a
readiness to arrange games during the
| coming season. The ground is drying
| out now, SO that there will be plenty
VI CppoI tuilly pEdtllCS. Lie SIouHQ
| at the fort is to the southeast of the
| aeroplane shed. and is part of the
field that Orville Wright will fly over
| in his experiments at The drill ground.
| The officers and men have contributes
| about $3.50 of their own money in fixing
up the grounds, and although the loca-
tion is not ideal it will make a fairly
| satisfactory field
Some of the men at the fort have al
| ready been prac Icing on the smaller
| troop horses. The maximum size for
polo ponies is AZ, but this limit is not
| observed very closely in this country.
and ii will be found that good many of
| the ponies go as high as 151~ There
| is a special provision in the army
appropriation bill this year for the pur-
| chase of small horses. officially for
| mounted messenger service. but natural
| ly some of these will be trained for
| polo, and the officers and men will use
| them, benehting the men in their gen.
eral horSemanship.