Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1912-03-14
PLAY FOR TITLE
. .'"'
OF TENNIS WORLD
Steps to Institute New Compe-
tition For Championship
TO HOLD CONFERENCE IN PARIS
England, America, Austria, Germany
and Belgium to Send Delegates to
France Next JuIy-Competition In
Countries Close Is Desired.

Even before the result Of the matches
for the Davis cup. held at Christ
church, New Zealand, was known
steps to institute an entirely new COM
petition for the lawn tennis champion
ship of the world had been taken. A
formal invitation has been sent to the
various lawn tennis governing bodies
by the president Of the French society,
which rules lawn tennis, asking them
to send representatives to a conference
which is to be held in Paris in July.
The purpose Of this conference is to
decide whether it is desirable to in
stitute a lawn tennis championship
of the world. and, if the answer is in
the affirmative, to formulate rules to
govern the competition and to select
a time and place for holding the first
meeting. 1t Is almost a certainty that
Great Britain, Germany, Austria and
Belgium will send delegates to the
conference. while France will, Of
course, have its representatives there.
For q number of years there has
been talk of a worlds championship
lawn tennis meeting. 1t is felt that
the Davis cup competition, while III
q measure serving the purpose. has
never done so fully owing to it's being
a contest between nations instead Of
one between individuals. This feeling
has gained in strength with each year
the Davis cup has been held in Aus
tralia. 1t is pointed out that since
1907 there has been no real competi-
ton among the champion nations" to
employ the p~hraseology Of the Davis
cup regulations, inasmuch as America
is the only country that has sent a
team to the antipodes. owing to the
great distance and the amount of time
required to make the trip. 1t is re-
called that so long as the cup was held
in England all the other nations Sent
teams to battle for it.
The same condition Of affairs would
prevail if America were the holding
country. 1t is said that the European
nations were only waiting for the cup
to be brought back to America to chal-
lenge for it almost in a body. Had the
New Zealand contest resulted different
ly the greatest lawn tennis competition
in the worlds history would have been
| held here this year. Great Britain,
France and Germany were ready to
send teams. and Australia would al
most certainly have challenged, with
Brookes to captain her team, in the
endeavor to regain what she has come
to look upon as her own.
There never has been q worlds lawn
tennis championship instituted, and
many people are disposed to conclude
that 1t is not feasible to hold one. The
principal tennis playing nations are To-
Gated so neal each other. with the ex-
ception Of Australia, that no insupera-
BILE difficulties exist, however. If Euro
pean players were ready to cross the
ocean in pursuit Of the Davis cup they
would be ever more ready to do so if
the prize were a real worlds cham
pionship. AS for American players.
there are probably half a dozen who
would view with favor the plan of
making a bid for titular honors. Many
Americans have contested for English
championship honors at Wimbledon in
the past. and several Of the topnotch-
ers of today have been quietly turning
over the project of having a try next
year for the English title.