New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-12-21
new BOWLING LAW
IS NOW EXPECTED
Result of Device to Show
How Weight of Balls
Is Distributed.
WILL ALLOW NORMAL
LACK OF BALANCE
E. E. DUNCAN, National President
Tells Why Regulation Was
Always Difficult.

hlh blilNai''
As a result Of recent article IN ho
Tribune telling Of an invention which
will indicate TO the fraction Of an ounce
how much bowling ball is out of bal
ance with regard to its centre, Elmer +.
DUNCAN. president of the National Bowl
ing Association, issued statement de-
fning the attitude OF the governing body
with regard to the "dodo' ball and the
legislation that may be expected at the
next convention in Atlantic City.
DUNCAN tells why the National Bowl
ing Association has been slow to act
which in itself will be interesting to all
bowlers. His statement, which is re-
markable in its completeness, is as fol-
lows:
"A ten-pin bowler owns his own DAN
and exclusively Uses it. In this respect
the game differs from most others, and
IL has been the cause of much agitation
LEGISLATION and trouble. Time was when
all bowling balls were wooden and ef-
fectjve weight was hard 10 obtain. There
was no limit, and increasing qualities
OF lead injections eventually brought the
combination up TO as high as twenty-five
pounds. Then the governing bodies ruled
a limit Of sixteen pounds. whereupon
lot of the lead disappeared, but what was
left was deity placed and the ball was
educated to take an unnatural hook and
a more destructive course. This caused
a rule limiting the ball to ore substance
along with other restrictions.
Rubber and composition balls were
next introduced, which opened wide the
doors for manipulation. and all the rules
inevitable were inadequate TO meet the
dozens of ways a ball could be loaded OF
,lnloaded, so as 10 give il destructive d.
rection powers not impaired TO ii by the
BOWERS hand. Only the concrete law
of sixteen pounds and a 27-inch circun-
ference was effective
'eThe loaded or 'dodo ball has been the
object OF attack by every association and
the heat Of convention discussion for
years, with entirely unsatisfactory re-
suits. Whether it gave a good bowler
better scores will be always debatable.
but that it discouraged the amateur and
the beginner is not 10 be questioned.
Particularly in Cleveland, Rochester. New
York, Chicago and Buffalo there have
been acute disturbances on account Of it.
and the game has been greatly harmed.
LEGISLATION has forever been sought TO
enforce an equal chance to score for all
devotees of the game, and the freaky or
unnatural ball, in the hands of an expert
who has the time and an object to work
out his schemes of unnatural pin top
ping, has easily been manufactured or
tempered with so as to sidestep the mean
ingiess rules which have been made
against If.
The National Bowling Association has
not ruled on the present ball, except as
TO the sixteen pounds and twenty-seven
inches, solely through consistency. To
place the decision as TO a fair ban in the
hands Of a committee is giving too much
power, is too unwieldy in form and would
inevitably develop worse unfairness than
an unfair ball.
ITO rule that any ball so manufact-
ured as TO weigh more on one side than
the other or any ball that has been
tempered WITH. az has been done, is
ridiculous, because all manufactured balls
are Of necessity heavier on one side than
the other, and practically no bowler uses
his ball precisely as he receives 1t from
the maker.
THE real trouble, and all the trouble,
lies in unbaIance, and as all balls are I'M
balanced the remedy lies in admitting IL
under limitations and devising machine
20 weigh ard indicate the amount OF I'M
balance. machine has been evolved
which will do this by locating exactly the
light point and the heavy point, weighing
the difference between them down to a
grain and doing 1t instantly.
THE National Bowling Association will
undoubtedly enact law allowing the
normal unbalance of one, two or three
ounces and this the device will determine.
Bowlers will then have three tests. which
cover every point and none of which can
ba evaded-a scale with sixteen pound
weight, ring twenty-seven inches in cir
cunderence to pass over the ball and the
new mechanism TO weigh the amount of
unbalance."
Something new In the way of q tourna-
ment will be run off by the Knights OF
Columbus Bowling League at Thum's
during February and March. The tourna-
ment will be much along the same lines
as the annual metropolitan championships
Of the New York Bowling Association,
except that only teams OF Knights Of
Columbus councils will be eligible 1t is
expected that there will be fully one
hundred fve-men combinations. with a
corresponding entry in the two-men and
individual divisions.
Jimmy Smith. the national champion. is
out with his annual challenge to roll any
man in tie world on the home and home
basis Jimmy recently returned from
trip through the West, during which he
never lost a match. lie rolled 1873 games
for an average Of PIG, truly championship
pinning. 1t may be that the champion
has an eve on the national tournament
at Atlantic city. a meeting which is al
ways characterized by great number
Of impromptu side matches.