Grand Forks daily herald., 1914-11-17
Callahan GIVES
HIS SIDE" OF ROW
Superintendent of Cavalier
School Explains His
y Position. i.

The following letter. from Supt. r.
r. Callahan explains the position TAX
en- by Cavalier in. the wrangle over
the Park. River-Cavalier football
game: :.. ..s.-s.,
Tn September for awhile We had
some doubt as to whether ,we could
find enough who cared to play foot
ball to make up a team. When others
entered a team was made up. This
team was eligible on all points except
the rule pertaining to last years cred
its Il refer to Section q Of Rules Of
Eligibility. This rule was waived be-
tween Cavalier and Pembina on the
ground that it was not published in
time to give schools q chance to meet
this requirement. This was the speci-
fic rule referred to when said to
him: IF this rule is enforced this sea-
son We cannot play under league
rules" asked him II he could waive
that rule, as some others were doing
this season. AS a matter of fact few
minutes after that conversation the
league assembled decided that the rule
on account Of it's late adoption and
publication, would not take effect Till
after the close Of this football season.
Before we left the meeting it was
understood and agreed to between MI.
Davenport and myself that that rule
would not be In force, and the game
would be played as, scheduled. With
the above rule not to take effect till
Dec. /, 1914. we have been playing
entirely under league rules. We had
six games scheduled: Lansdon team
disbanding left us without q game on
Oct. 81. About Oct. 80 I found We
had two members of the team who
were not quite. up to passing in some
Of their work. We warned the boys
that they must be up before Nov. z If
they were to take part in the Drayton
game. On Nov. this matter was i'm
pressed on the boys, and teachers were
requested to see to it that the boys
make up any back work due and that
they (the team) keep up their work
each day. referred to this matter
in my letter of Nov. 3 (probably dat
ed Nov. as it was written Tuesday
night to be mailed next day. This is
the letter your article quotes as dat
ed Nov. IL, which is wrong). After
o'clock. Nov. 6. when I asked the
teachers for the standing of the men,
bers of the team every member was
more teachers and myself had been
impressing the matter with those a
little behind that they must be up.
with the result that they were up for
the game Of Nov. Z. On the night of
the seventh (possibly the eighth), I
called up Mr.. Davenport and told him
that all n1ep1bers Of our team were
then up In -thelr work and that :H,a ask
ed nothing to be Waived, that we were
able to play the game according to
strict eligibility rules. told him at
the time that he had not replied to
my letter OF the third Cor 4th). He
said he would go over the matter with
Mr.. Ashcraft and the coach and re-
ply tomorrow" ~.
Now am under the impression that
I asked in that letter (probably in a
post script) about the eligibility of
one Of their players. I intended to
l: see 1t is not in your printed copy.
We had the word from very good au-
thority that one of the players on the
Park River team had in 1911 been an
enrolled student at the Agricultural
college. Fargo. take this school to be
a school higher in rank than, a Sec
ondary school. If SO, and If this
player was an enrolled student there,
kit would seem that eligibility rules,
do not know that the above hearsay
is true. 1t did come to us from good
authority. Had the Cavalier-Park
River game been played we would
have looked into the rumor more
carefully.
Superintendent Davenport raised the
question why We have joined the
league on Nov. II, as he says, though
we joined Nov. 10. The receipt is
signed the 11th. AS matter Of fact
we have never been a member Of the
league till recently, for the reason that
not all the small towns III this corner
Of the state are members. it is incon-
venient for us on this branch Of the
Great Northern railway to get out
and back without being gone or 4
days. and on account of this incon-
venience we are almost forced to play
some games with teams not in the
league. For the reasons named we
have never Joined till recently, though
as q matter of fact we have played
strictly under the league rules since /
have been here, except once when both
teams the management of both teams
previous to the game waived one eligi-
bility rule). We exchange lists either
verbally or in writing
A second reason why we join at
this time Is this: we had thought of
joining earlier in the season, but Sec
ton 2 relative to last years credits