The Washington herald., 1911-02-04

New York, Feb. S.-The StandpatterS on
the football rules committee, which ap-
parently included pretty much every
body on the committee, were so strong
at to-day's International meeting in the
Hotel Cumberland that no changes Of
consequence were made in the playing
code of the game. Nothing else was ex-
pccted, though there were some football
enthusiasts who hoped against hope that
something would be done to relieve the
game of a great deal of dullness which
attended it last year. This dullness was
due largely to breaking the game up
into quarters, thus interrupting continu-
ity and creating a distinct tendency to-
ward making action drag.
A change was made regarding the quar-
ters to-day. but not one that will do any
good so far as making the play more
brisk is concerned. The intermiSsionS
between the first and second and third
and fourth periods were decreased from
three to two minutes. With the shorter
time to wait while they are on the field
between quarters. the players will have
one minute less in which to run the risk
OF getting chilled. but otherwise the
change is of no value and the intermis-
sions might as we'll have been left as
they were.
The committee had morning, afternoon.
and night sessions, and put in good
deal of time in negative action. There
were a number of rules on which they
voted to make no changes this on GER
ia in ruieS which came up for discussion
and the adviSability of changing them.
The changes that actually were made
were fewer than discussed rules that
of changing them The learned football
solons adopted what they were pleased
to designate as a wise and conservative
policy.
Among Those Present.
The regular members of the committee
present were: f. h. Hail. Dartmouth;
Walter Camp. Yale: Crawford Blagden.
Harvard: Joseph Beacham. Cornell: 5.
&c. Williams. Iowa; V. w. Cooper. West
Point: Parke Davis, Princeton: H. L.
Williams. Minnesota; A. A. Stage, Chi
cago: W. L. Dudley. Vanderbilt: c. w.
Savage. Oberlin, and J. A. Babbitt, Hav-
erford. Absentees were John c. Bell. of
Pennsylvania, and Paul Dashiell. Of An
napolis. They were represented by Carl
Williams and Lieut.. Berrien, respective
ly. Other football men there were David
FuItz. the referee. field judge and UNI
pire; William Roper. Princeton. head
coach, and Arthur Irwin, scored board
man, and baseball scout.
After the usual amalgamation proceed
ings in Che morning. T.. X. Hall was
made chairman of the committee, a de-
served honor. and Walter Camp. secre-
tary. There was an informal discussion
of the rules in the morning and there
the Standpat sentiment manifested itself
\ new rule adopted was to permit
names by agtVement to transfer the su-
pervision of offside play on the line of
scrimmage from the umpire to the lines
man. the latter, however, to report in
fractions to the umpire. Another new
rule adopted was that the throwing to
the ground of any player carrying the
ball after the referee has declared the
ball dead may be deemed unnecessary
roughneSs and so punished.
Three Men on Side Lines.
Rule %, section 4. was amended so as
to allow only three men on each side to
walk up and down the side line. instead
so that If the ball accidentally strikes
an official the ball should not be declared
dead. as heretofore, but that play shall
continue.
Several changes intended to facilitate
the working of the forward pass were
made. The most important was that all
penalties regulating forwarding passing
shall be from the spot Of the down, and
not from the spot from which the pass
was made. A player making pass
often was in motion. and it was not as
easy to tell where the pass was made
from, as it will be to apply the penalty
from the place of the down. The lat
ter is a known locality.
Rule IS, section 2. which provided that
a player on catching a forward pass
shall not be tackled. thrown, straight
armed. &C, until he shall have caught
the ball and taken more than one step
in any direction, was amended by the
striking out the words more than one
step in any direction" The provision
about waiting until one step was not
SO the committee thought it
might as well be taken out. 1t was i'm
practicable.
Umpire to Keep Time.
The duty of keeping time was trans
ferred from the field judg9 to the UNI
pire. The field judge stands away from
the play, and time has been lost in con-
sulting him about time. Rules which
were discussed and on which the vote
was to leave them as they are were:
Requiring the player making the for
ward pass to be at least yards be-
hind the line Of scrimmage when the pass
is made: forbidding interference with
players Of the offensive side on a for
ward pass or kick until they shall have
advanced 20 yards beyond the line of
forbidding forward pass to
cross a line 20 yards in advance of the
line Of scrimmage. Also it was voted to
make no change in the rules for the
purpose of Strengthening the offense
within the 25-yard lines. There has been
strong pressure toward making 1t easier
or, rather, less difficult to score within
the 25-yard lines. More downs and
distance to go were suggested.
but the committee held to present condi-
tions.
"The committee felt that it has ac-
what 1t set out to do last
said Mr. Hall. which was to
make the game saft and playable. It
seemed unwise. therefore, to make any
changes in a game that has worked out
pretty well until we can be reasonably
in the light OF further expert
ence. whether changes are necessary and
what they should be-"
Mr.. Roper said that next fall at Prince.
ton he would be less active as coach
than he has been. He win be more Of
an advisory coach, and win have q field
coach under him to do the active coach.