Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-05
NEED STRONG MAN
TO UNITY FORCES
Declares Wightman Cup Was
Lost When Miss Harper
Was Left Off Team.
BY WILLIAM T. TILDEN, I'd.

n EW YORK, october 4 (N.A.
N NA).-The tennis season
/ Y is over, but much remains
to be done before next
year if our jubilee year is to be
the great success we hope it to be.
The year 1880 has been ripe
with the promise of coming
greatness through the rise of
John Doeg, Sidney Wood, Clifford
Suffer, Ellsworth Vines, Frank
Shields; the brilliance of Wilmer
Allison; the excellence of John
Van Ryn and Gregory Mangin.
True, there have been disappoint-
mentS in the showing of Frank Hunter,
Junior Coen, George Lott and Fritz
Mercur However, from a playing
standpoint, tennis is in healthy and
flourishing condition.
Politically - and unfortunately our
tennis is largely governed by poll
tics-all is not so fair. Never has the
game been so dominated by politics,
governed and organized by men many
Of whom are not and never have been
rather understand, If not excuse, blum
ders by men who have never played
the game. since they have had no ex-
perience in meeting the situations that
arise in international tennis.
Lauds Davis Cup Heads.
We have been indeed fortunate dur
ing this era of executive lack of play
ing knowledge to have had at the head
Of our Davis Cup organization two men
like Joseph w. Wear and F. e. Dixon,
who are both experienced in interna-
tional sport and strong in executive
ability. They made up to some extent
what our country lost.
However, another year Is at hand, q
most important one to the U. s. L. T. A.
am not questioning the sincerity Of
the present administration, nor its fair
ness, nor its earnest desire to do all
in its power to aid the game of tennis.
only question its judgment and its
methods.
1 feel very strongly the time has
come when the United States Lawn
Tennis Association needs a leader who
has a background that includes not
only long business training, but also
that of a player, an international
sportsman and one verSed in the nice
ties of diplomatic correspondence.
Weighty problems face our next pres
ident Today many of the foreign ma
tions consider the U. s. L. T. A. al
most ridiculous in its handling of the
amateur problem. They wonder why
we do not follow the generally accepted
standards Of the International Fedora
ton, without adding a lot of hair
splitting rules that only handicap our
selves. They are not pleased at our
arrogance toward aiding their teams
to play in the United States. They
feel we lack q spirit Of reciprocity in
our policy of international play, and
they are right.
Strong Man Needed.
What is needed in American tennis
today is q man who recognizes that
we must establish the friendliest rela-
lions with other nations and by our
great wealth cooperate in bringing
their players to us and ours to them.
We need q man strong enough to face
the issue on such bugaboos as the
player writer rule, the insurance and
bond problem, the ghost writer and all
the other amateur-profesSional angles
and lead us to q clear and simplined
rule that Is at once understandable
and enforceable by all.
It would require a man Of assured
SOCldl dIlu AlAlalCldl POcAtlOAlI WIZ 70 hOb
affiliated with any of the present exist
ing political factions in the associa-
ton, yet one who is acceptable to all
of them. Such figure would require
much searching to find, and, once
found, might refuse the job, but If he
could be found what prestige he would
give to the u. s. L. T. A. and what
a benefit he would be to the game Of
amateur tennis.
Too Much Politics.
This much is certain. The present
handling of teams, the present attitude
of international reciprocity is too wrap1
ped up with political ambitions to give
the desired results. I consider the
Wightman Cup was lost when Miss
Harper, our leading doubles player, was
left off the team so as to include q
player from the Missouri Valley Asso-
citation and hold its votes to the pres
ent administration. A teams person.
mel must be divorced from political
aspiration or personal likes and dis
likes If success is to meet American
teams in future years.
The time is ripe now for every dis
trict and sectioal association to con-
slider seriously If they desire any
changes in the administration next year,
and II so they should express themselves
to the nominating committee at once.
We should do all in our power to make
our jubilee year a red-letter year IN
American tennis, and the SureSt way
to do it is to make an intelligent and
concerted effort to solve such problems
as the amateur question, international
reciprocity and the Punishment Of
politics from team selections.
(Copyright $780, by North American News
paper Alliance)