The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-12-25
ENGLISH SCOFF
At AMERICANS
Declare Our Football Is a Relic
of Brutal Game OF Cen
turtles Ago.
AMAZED AND AMUSED AT
CRYSTAL PALACE CONTEST
Turf Guardian Society Protects
Layers From DefauIting
Race Followers.
By RICHARD DAHLaREN
Special Cable to The Tribune.

BY RICHARD DAHIGREN.
Special Cable TO The Tribune
LONDON, Dec. 34.-Nothing Ameri-
can, especially in the world of sports,
will over suit Englishmen-a feet
which, l believe, does not give Ameri-
cans the, least concern. Your way Of
playing football is considered shock
ing. 1t would never do here, you
know; oh, no; never.
Here is An English opinion of an
American football game published in
leading London paper:
The football match played recently
at Crystal palace" says the writer,
between the teams of the United
States battleships Idaho and Vermont
gave English spectators chance to
see specimen of the gamo which has
been SO much criticised for its rough
ness. The Idaho eleven won by 90
points.
cit wes clean football of its kind
for the most part; casualties were few
and not serious; and, seeing as we did
an example of American football
played in spirit OF keenness combined
with good humor, it was easy to be
lieve that the yearly butcher IS bill, ,
of which so much is heard in the
United States, is really the work of
those who deliberately indulge in bru.
tai play. The defensive armor worn
padded knickerbockers, leather epau
let's, India rubber caps, and ear-faps,
also worn for -protection-covers
all vital spots and should be sufficient
to ward Off the evil effects of all legiti
mate roughness. That tho game is
rough cannot be denied. An ill-tem-
pered game of rugby football is a Sun
day school picnic in comparison.
Condemns Illegal Roughness.
"But it is not the legitimate, but
the illegal roughness which is the
cause of fatal accidents nine times in
ten, and it should be possible so to
strengthen the bands of the held Off
cials rs to repress the brutal 'slugging.
Many spectators think it right to de-
scribe the game as unsportsmanhke,
because interference, which is tabooed
in rugby football, is allowed under the
American rules But that is an illogi-
cal criticism. If interference is legal
lied. then it becomes the duty of every
PLAYER to prevent an opponent from
helping his friends in any way. The
absence of an off-side rule, which
makes the forward pass the corner
stone of American tactics also gave
rise to illogical criticisms. Where a
player is always on-side, he cannot be
Justly accused of unsportsmanlike con.
duct in waiting off f-side for a pass. All
these difficulties are resolved if Amerl-
can football is regarded, not as yari-
ant of rugby football, but as a form
| of association in which handling the
| ball and interfering with an opponent
to the extent of laying hands on him
are permitted.
HUnder association rules interter.
ence is permitted, and so are forward
masses. American football is really an
amaIpam OF our two games; as such il
has developed on logical lines into a
nasfime which. though slow and labor.
| ious. has many interesting points and
lis a drastic test of strength and cour'
ace. Tt is the direct descendant of the
all. in football OF our ancestors, OF
which the worthy Stubbes (l5Ss) sald
in his fAnatomic Of Abuses IN thf
Realm of England: I protest unte
YOU that it may rather be called
friendlike kinde OF fyghte than play
or recreation-a bloody and murther
ing practice than felowly sport o1
nastime.' Being milder and more hu
name than our ancestors. we have pre-
farred two 'fellowly' pastimes to one
aboriginal form of football, and shal
stick to our preference. despite thf
CRYSTAL palace obJeet-Iesson IN al
sntinuariau pursuit, fosslllZed forn
nf footbelI. But one must needs fee
amazed and little amused that tn.
hmpricans should be playing sixteenth
century football in the twentieth cen
tnrv Really, it is rather unprogres
lsive. .;
Members of the Turf Guardian so
ciety saw the organization has abund
antiv justified its existence. III IS 90
ing an extremely valuable work 10 10
hackers and commission agents, and IN
knowledge that the society is conduct
mo its operations in so active and com
nrebensive q manner is pow9rrul dc
terropt to those who might be incllne'
In evade their liabilities when fortun
had froTned upon them. In these days
when the searchlight OF criticism is al
rected by the enemies of racing and 1T
coneomitants on all that is eonnecte
with the turf, IT Is Importanl Ina s,
there should be no shadow OF suspicion
ms io the penuineness Of betting trans
act;ons. The society recognizes tbl:
and il is attracting to it's membershl
roll all the leading commission agent
of the country and many of the bes
known hackers.
There is no room IN the society eS
cept for those who honorary carry on
their obligations. whether hackers o
LAYERS. and the British public is MOI
beginning to recognize that when dc
ing business with those who are o
its books they have a guarantee Of tn
bona fideuess of every TRANSACTION
Then again, the society is a terror I
the man with aliases, who formerl
could fit from layer to layer withou
trouble. always taking his winnings, bu
lust as certainly being in default whe
the account was against him Thes
parasites of the turf have not been g,
tirpated but the society. thanks to IT
wonderful system of collecting info
nation, is frequently abic to protect y
members from them. u is remnrkabl
how much has been done In so short
time. and at the second annual Dime
haId II The Hotel Cecil, there wei