Omaha daily bee., 1910-01-09
DR.. R. G. Clapp Says Foot Ball Must
Be Made Safer or Colleges
Will Drop IT.,
MoLLYCoDDLEs ARE IN POWER
Nebraska Athletic Director Discusses
Result Of Meeting.
EASTERN SENTIMENT IS STRONG
Radicals Demand Change as Price Of
Retaining Sport.
EAGER AFTER BASE BALL GAMES
Schedule for the Spring season Now
i'm Process Of Formation
Weeks Rest for the BRs-
ket Ball Men.
Nebraska Athletic Director Discusses
Result of Meeting.

ket Ball Men.
LINCOLN, Jan. s.-(speclal)-'Thera
must be either radical revision Of the foot
ball rules or the abolition OF the Amer
lean game"
This, in the opinion Of DR.. r. G.. Ciapp
who represented Nebraska at the recent
meeting Of the national Intercollegiate con.
ference in New York City, was the keynote
OF the New York gathering, and It wildly
reveals the crisis TO which the great
Yankee game has now come as a result Of
the many fatalities that were attributed u
foot bali last fall. ~
In the east. DIR. Clapp said. he found Al
sentiment for the wholesale
changing OF the ruies-a sentiment that is
not manifest in the western states. and
that is generated from a radical and ewes
narrow point OF view.
The great majority Of the colleges and
universities that were represented In the
national m~eeting-and there were more thar
10O-are set on making the gridiron game
SAFE related Nebraska's delegate, and
unless the rules committee uses the knife
effectively enough most OF these schools
are going to prohibit the game being
played.
in the meeting there were a few dele
gates who did not want to have the rules
greatly changed, but the majority was SO
overwhelming against them that they had
to submit to the weight Of votes. These
few delegates tried to argue that the acci-
dents the last season were not due 10
foot ball alone, but the radical faction,
while listening, was obdurate and said
nothing would do but such slashing OF
the rules as would take out the dangerous
plays.
Must Satisfy "MOIlycOddles."
II believe-and so do many of the other
men who were at the meeting-that much
OF the cry against foot ball comes from
the mollycoddles," says DR.. Clapp. and
that there is no need for changing the
game too much in order to make It safe;
yet is is ~undeniabiy true that the rules
must be changed in some manner to Grad
icate the glaring faults. r
But it is the so-called mollycoddles that
the rules committee will have to appease
IL foot ball is to be kept an American
college sport. In talking with delegates
from the various parts of the country 1
learned that their institutions demanded a
sane game and that unless they could get
II they would eradicate the sport from
their list of games.
The men who do not want the game
greatly changed won a point when they
had the matter OF revision referred to the
rules committee, but II tina committee does
not make changes that result in giving the
colleges a safe game some of the schools
will refuse to play under the American
code.
Safe or 10 Game.
Grbapoalto, nar "a "
l think, expressed the general opinion Of
the leading educators of the country, whom
he said that all the colleges want AmerI-
can games for their young men, but that
they want them to be comparatively safe
TO life and limb, or else they will not ave
them at all. They would rather do with
out the games than have their young men
manned and killed by contesting In them.
In the east this expression seemed to
be more representative of the prevailing
sentiment, than in the west, and came
to the conclusion that the east wanted re-
form In a worse way than the west does.
l had gone to New York under the i'm
preston that the eastern schools would
discourage the west in its demand for re-
vision.
1T is hard to tell Just what changes the
committee will make in the rules. but L
believe it safe to predict that the mass
plays and the flying tackle formations Will
be abolished. 1 know that some schools
Will refuse to permit their cams TO play
the game unless these changes are mada.
1 do not look for many changes, but the
few that are made, l expect to be very
radical ones.
"rhe rule makers saw the sentiment
against foot ball and they are not going
to try to appease this by any halfway
measures. They will make revision that
will stand the criticism Of the mollycod-
dies. Foot ball Is the greatest college game,
and Its strongest supporters, who are the
men on the rules committee will not do
anything that would tend to discredit the
game among the radicals Of the country
Basket Ball Men % Resi-.
An idle week is In store for the Corn
husker basket ball players after their game
at Lawrence with the Kansas state uni
versity five tonight. No games are on the
schedule for next week and the local bas-
ket shooters will have until January zi-zz,
when the Ames Aggies come to Lincoln
for two games 20 recover from the bruises
sustained on the southern trip.
Coach Hewitt has ordered that no regu-
lar practice work be done that week as h,
wants his players to spend plenty OF tim
with their studies so they may be ready
to pass the semester examinations. which
are the latter part OF this month The Corn.
huskers have been doing a large amount
OF practicing since the latter part OF De
cember and their studies have not received
all the attention that, In some cases, should
have been paid TO them. Hewitt would
rather run the risk OF having his men x
stale In training than TO keep them a
constant work and thus endanger theil
, chance at the finals.
The games at Kansas yesterday and TO.
day tested the strength OF the C~ornhusksl
five, and from the showing made there I
Judgment can be formed OF the Nebraskl
players strength. The Jayhawkers aAVI