Los Angeles herald., 1910-12-18
P|GsK|N CHAsERs
AWAITING VERDICT
Soccer, Rugby, American or a
Combination of All Three
Styles of PIay2

The sporting fraternity is watching
the outcome of the gridiron situation
anxiously. When the major portion OF
the population of a country consists OF
those to whom football is only ghost
that provides the morgue with victims.
game that Is more bloodthirsty Than
war, publicity of the right kind and a
time for fair judgment is at hand
Everyone desires the safest kind OF
game possible, yet accidents in any line
of sports are frequent and cannot be
entirely avoided. Rugby and soccer
have each provided the anti-American
game fans with ammunition. and the
attack has had its effect. The only So
luton of the question is the discovery
of a universal football that will give
the spectators the thrill of physical
conflict which the old-Style game sup
piled, combined with the fast and bril-
liant plays of the rugby and soccer va
rieties. All three are football, and the
time is bound to come when football
will need no adjectives to reveal the
style of play.
The object continually before the
members of the rules committee in its
protracted and strenuous sessions last
spring was the lsssening of the possi-
bilities for injury. The statistics of the
season Just closed indicate that this OBJ
iect has been accomplished. Upon the
basis of these figures it fairly may be
asserted that football now presents no
greater hazards than baseball, hockey,
track athletics and lacrosse. 1t may be
assumed, therefore, that the major
amendment of 1910, by which this re-
suit was accomplished, the abolition of
interlocked mass interference, which of
course includes aid to the runner, Will
stand without change. From some quar-
ters emanates a demand that this rule
shall be modified so as to permit one
man to aid the runner, but as one man
was all that was necessary to aid the
runner at the very height of this push
and-pull game, it is exceedingly doubt
full If this proposition can impress itself
sufficiently upon the football public to
obtain reinstatement in the code and
set the game back to 1909 The return
to the custom of the early sos, which
permitted a withdrawn player to be re-
turned to the play, has been provoca-
tive of such good results and is SO uni
versally commended by the players
that it also may be assumed as a fix
ture in the game.
FORWARD PASS UNPoPULAR
The forward pass is still unpopular
with many football men, but 1t is too
attractive to the public to be- elimin-
ateo from tne sport Wilhoue piiu6he
upon football an avalanche of disap-
proval. While the forward pass, there
fore, may defy any effort to eliminate
1t, the details of this play unquestion-
ably will face a searching scrutiny and
a possible change. 1t is true that no
accidents in 1910 have been charged to
this play, but it's mechanism has been
so cumbersome and complex that it has
been unintelligible to the spectator.
1t is the players who are responsible
for the most frequent criticism of the
past season that there is too much
officiating by the officials. If the play
ers would not commit fouls the officials
would not interfere with the infiiction
OF penalties. A distinguished analyst
at Princeton has attributed the failure