Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-08-19
Don't Be Alarmed, Fans, By Excite
ment Of Bugs Across River, or
to East, He Says.
BY ]. 1. HUGHES.

The Independents will be out
there, full of the old fight, and
ready, when the whistle blows
We quote Walter Flanagan, than
whom there is no whomer as a foot
ball manager.
Walter dropped in last night and
spilled a line of grid chatter that
carried a lot of conviction, and then
some. He didn't attempt to dope
out a team on paper to convince
that the green-jerseyed warriors
will lead 'em all again. He didn't
say that he had signed the greatest
coach in the country and the cream
of the talent He said nothing of
3 pile of jack a mile high with
which he proposed to assemble an
aggregation.
On the contrary, Walter asked us
to say this for him:
"IlI be ready when the time
comes and I'll have a team that
will uphold the old standard. l.
will be a bunch of loyal players,
too. And they will be out there
fighting because they love the
game. and the gate receipts will be-
long to them"
So, fans, don't be alarmed by all
this chirping we hear floating
across the old Mississippi and from
the direction of our neighbor to the
east. It's so old that even Adam
turns over in his slumbers and
smiles the knowing smile
On Field; Not On Paper.
AS We gathered in Our confab
with the dynamic Walter, a team
can't be made in black and white,
but it is out on the field where the
fans learn the truth. Therefore, he
intends to proceed along quietly
and assemble his men when the
time comes and send them out to
win, and he says they will.
No, he had hardly given football
a thought so far Plenty of time,
he thinks. Several of his old re-
tables sought to get him in action
when the bug struck the tri-cities,
but he refused to get excited. He
says his men will all respond when
he sends out the call.
It is rumored~abOut that former
stars of the Independents will be
seen with rival teams this fall be-
cause there will be more in it for
them as a commercial proposition
Perish the thought! They all know
that full pocketbooks have been
known to shut, and stay shut, when
things have started to break poorly
and the returns on the investment
fall short So why should they take
q chance when the sure thing is
right here?
Here is something we have held
over as a kind of agreeable sur
prise.
McManus to Play?
Everything looks rosy for the To-
Gals to be led into combat this sea-
son by none other than Ernie Nc
Manus, as great a quarterback as
ever handled a pigskin on Rock
Island gridiron. Flanagan says
Ernie has made it plain he would
like to be back with the boys again.
You all remember him, and his
snake-like, spectacular runs for
touchdowns. And you all remem-
Der what his educated toe can do.
And as an after-thought, let us
add that in the first game of the
year in Rock Island, a football that
has come all the way from France
will be used. One of F'lanigan's
friends rescued the ball after it
had seen service over there and
Rugged it tightly all the way home.
1t should prove a rather suspicious
event.
Oh, yes. We almost forgot. Wa
ter asked that some comment be
made OF the fact that he believes
the Independents was the only reg
uIarIy organized team of note that
played out a schedule last fall in
the face of all the obstacles of war.
If there is any other he will be
glad to acknowledge a share in the
honors. He considers it quite a
stunt and points out that it is
beautiful evidence of spirit. The
others all threw up the sponge in
the face of handicaps, but not so
the Independeuts