Evening star., 1918-01-07

pliers to a close score there will be no
fives hump to win when it meets them.
Eastern's showing against Business
will determine somewhat the possibil-
ity of a close series between four teams
fairly evenly matched. II the Light
Blue and White displays strength on a
par with the Stenographers it will be
only reasonable to expect one OF the
hardest-fought schedules since the be-
ginning Of regularly organized schoAs-
tic basket ball. Tho game will mark
the first play Of an Eastern team under
the direction Of Coach Battersby, the
new man in charge Of athletics. Bat
tersby comes to Eastern with an excel
lent record as coach of scholastic teams,
and is said to be entirely competent to
handle the many phases Of athletic
work in one Of the local schools.
Saturday night the District Intercol-
Iegiate League gets under way again.
Two games are to be played. Catholic
University being scheduled for g CON
test with Gallaudet and Maryland state
In the first contests in which the league
quints met Catholic University trim
med Maryland State by % to and
George Washington won from Ga1lau-
Besides its game in the intercoI-
1egiate league Catholic University this
week meets the Navy quint. The
from the Midshipmen, as the latter nave
not been going very we'll this season.
Without meaning to intimate that
the Navy is not getting just as good
coaching as in past years. it is perth
nent to remark that it has lost more
games already this season than It drop
ped in the two years Jim Collifower
was coaching the squad. And there is
about the same material at Annapolis
this year as last, with the probability
of the material being a little better
right now.
Vanderbilt has offered to come to
Washington next fall for a foot ball
game with Maryland State The Mary
landers are anxious to stage big con-
test here. but will be able to do moth
ing until the question of the contest
with Georgia Tech is definitely settled.
Vanderbilt. Georgia Tech and State are
hooked up for the same date. II the
game with the Georgia school falls
through. the Maryland Institution will
The only problem concerning game
with Vanderbilt is the amount OF guar
antee demanded by the latter. State
has arranged for two big home games
{
Washington. Georgia Tech is the prob
ability. inasmuch as Johnny Heiseman,
| in charge of athletics at the Atlanta
institution. accepted proposition dur
giate Athletic Association in New
York and stated that ratification was
| all that was necessary to make the
game certain A clipping from an At
| lanta paper. sent to Washington by
Maryland State alumnus who is the
head of one of the departments at the
University of Georgia and himself a
former State fullback, states that Tech
| is likely to abandon its previous pol
| icy of one trip and play two games
| ticle in speaking of Maryland State de-
| scribes 1t as IAN institution Of some
what obscure reputation in foot ball"
| While it is rather a lengthy epistle
Ito reproduce in this column, Dean
Briggs annual report on athletics al
Harvard is worth while and is here
with reprinted. The report is hardly q
report at all. but something of a de-
4 Tense OF the universitys action in its
stand on intercollegiate athletics. The
| document was sent out by the untver-
sity itself and undoubtedly the senti-
ments expressed therein are Official
The report follows:
ITO the President Of the University:
"Sir: The report Of the committee on
the regulation of athletic sports for
the year 1861 must be brief. TILL war
was declared more students than usual
engaged in athletic sport. This is espe-
cially true Of the freshmen. Even at the
end of the year the number of students
on the river and on the tennis courts
was not small, but the physical energy
land the mental concentration once be-
slowed on athletics were rightly
brought to bear on military training.
| "In foot ball and hockey we won from
letics, base ball and rowing university
contests were abandoned because Of the
war Mr. Haines, the coach of tho crew,
and Mr.. Duffy, the coach Of the nine. are
RETAINED for work with such students
as they may help. but the university
teams as we have known them In recent
lyears do not exist today. Tho college
has been severely blamed for suspend
ling intercollegiate athletics. Intercol-
legiate athletics in any recognizable
BILE and almost unimaginable. The spirit
that makes man an athlete makes him
at the very first call of his country a
soldier, and when war was declared our
games with Yale, which had seemed the
most important events OF life. became in
a moment unrealities, to which no ear
| nest man in a university team or crew
could give serious thought. Practically
all our atnleteS VINO QlQ not enlist as
volunteers gave themselves up to in
tensive military study and practice till
! in the summer all but two Of seventy
nine men in the university foot ball
squad were in some form Of national
service or in training for it. These facts
may be interpreted as evidence that in
tercollegiate athletic sport should be
kept up. II 1t is good preparation for
service in war, why abandon 1t now
when we are at war for the first time
in many years? II voluntary service
! takes nineteen-twentieths of our ath-
letes, why not form a university team
| of men under age and therefore not vet