Weekly journal-miner., 1921-01-05
PAGE THREE

1 WmSlOW DetOTe CdnCeHHlg the game
 scheduled for November c. We pre- sented the Badgers side of the con
 troversy, and later gave an equal
 amount of space to Principal Grady
 Gammage of Winslow Thus the
 matter rested until the meeting of
 the executive committee of the State Athletic association, held last week in Phoenix
 In his statement Mir Gammage
 said: At the time our team was in Prescott, Mir. Napier mentioned
 something about cancelling the game
 of the following Saturday, but
 gave no hope that this could be
 done. In fact, l told him that l did
 not think that we would consent
 10 it."
 In our opinion this destroyed Win slows whole case. Previously, they
 had held that they knew nothing about the cancellation until two days
 before the game. But this shows
 Prescott had asked for 1t seven days | before the contest was to be played. The bylaws say five days are
 enough.
 What could Mir. Gammage have meant by something about cancel ling the gamer" It IS this vague ness that IS the crux of the matter
 And, furthermore, when Prescott was
 caught in the dilemma of two games for the one day, why should 1t be | left to WinslOw to decide which game should be played? The rules say nothing about "by your majesty's leave" Five days notice and the game is off. That's all.
 It seemed, however, that every body's O. k. had to be got. Who plays the football, basketball and other sports, the boys or the super intendents? It's fine commentary | on the democratic control of school boy sports when a teacher has to consult his principal, who must go into session with the district super intendent before he can let his boys cancel a football game. Why not call in the governor?
 That, 1t seems to us, IS the seat of trouble. There IS too much faculty interference, and not enough faculty guidance in Arizona schoolboy ath- letics. The system is so haphazard that it's a wonder more jams have not resulted in the past. A coach comes to a school. There is no schedule, no captain, no manager. He must drill his players and try to arrange games while the season is under way. Why, those things should have been settled a year be- forel Now is the time to arrange the games for next fall, not next October Now IS the time to elect a manager Now is the time to pick captain. In fact, all this should have been done immediately after the Santa Fe game on Thanksgiving day.
 You will notice that all colleges are announcing their 1921 schedules at the present time. Then, If there IS any conflict in games there is plenty of time to straighten it out.
 We have had lot of experience with the Public Schools Athletic league of New York, and we know that a similar body here would watch more carefully the scholarship of the students and leave the sched ule making to the boys. It would never have suspended a school for a whole year merely because it did the stupid act of scheduling two different games in two different cities for the same day. There is a good deal of work to do in raising the ethics of sports. Wherever a game is played in the state, ringers and ineligible students have to be watched. At least two instances Of tue use of ringers happened in this circut last fall
 Let the faculties get after such things and stop giving lip-service to clean sportsmanship. There's lot of work for them to do; so much, in fact that the scheduling of games might easily be left to the boys. It will teach them to handle their own affairs, something that they will have to do sooner or later. Besides, practice in correspondence might inn prove theirs penmanship.
 That is about all we have to say 0n the subject Others may wax ubilant over the reinstatement. We hink there's a lesson for the whole state to be learned from the unfor- unate affair.