The Indianapolis times., 1930-11-04
TALKING
IT OVER
BY JOE WILLIAMS

ATEW 1Otsh, NOF. a--~S- es'A-iiy ,
~ college football should lend A
hand-two hands, in fact, to the
unemployed thousands Of this
country. The proposal that al the
major colleges get together and put
over a series of post-season games
is sound, feasible and workable ]
don't see how any faculty board
protesting an interest in humanity
can fail to respond.
n
II ~ happens that football Is non-es-
ssntiai. and az the same time, even in this
period Of depression, II Is the one luxury
that is being supported In the manner TO
which IT has become accustomed
There IS something extraordinary about
en- economic situation which fnds miuloha
being spent on tootosH wh1ie ne Essy es5 Ilea aed
because the situation Is extraordinary the
coieEes Tn,eh spnt enes \, rsrag6ize II
n
You are taught that the sporting in
stinct is the spiritual structure on which
these otherwise meaningless games are
built. Nov Is a very fine time for the col
aeres to give a practical demonstration Of
this sporting instinct.
n n
90 far very few of them have
- shown any great enthusiasm
about doing so. 5 AS these lines are
written only one college has come
to the front as a, voluntee. to the
cause. New York university an
nounced Monday its willingness to
play any team anywhere for the
unemployment fund This is fine.
Who's going to be the next and next
and uext2
This department has been trying TO lay
the ground work for series Of charity
games for some days. the details of which
are nov in the hands of Chairman Arthur
Woods of the presidents committee.
Progress has been slow and difficult due
solely TO the not exactly noble attitude Of
-fho colleges.
and technicalities. and that these must pc
observed no matter what the circumstances
~ Its fine idea, but We have q rule
aeainst post season genes. We q IKE
aWfullv we'll to help but our boys have
been through tough schedule ana We
can't very well ask them to play an extra
came "Such z game as YOU suggest
would take the bows away. from their
studies at a very important time and that
makes it impossible. ETC. etc. ETC.
n
And in the meantime you see fine look
Ing men standing with drawn faces on
street corners in the biggest and richest
CITY in the land selling apples because
there are no Jobs for them in the offices
or the factories. and IS cents or a dollar
day earned in this desperate way is a
great deal better than unabashed begging
CT starvation.
NF cours rules may be very I'M
~ portant- pecially faculty made
rules that apply to athletics. Not
many of our colleges are distin-
guished by an excess of moral or
mental breadth. So perhaps it
should not be surprising that In a
time such as this an insignificant
technicality should be offered as
sufficient excuse for not lending q
hand to man who has been
slapped around by the fates.
For the past six or seven years foot
ball In most of the bigger colleges mas
been a million dollar business. r3tirile Miheiie
the COLLEGES have carefully pointed out
that this money is not TANNED down the
qectors but rather has been applied to the
promotion and maintenance OF general
sports program
Fair enough Obviously the money must
he applied TO something. But that does
not alter the fact it still comes in great
gobs, and that in many colleges profess
slonaI press agents are hired by the year
to stimulate the trade.
u
T MENTION this to show that col
L lege football is not conducted as
ethically as many pretend and to
refute any suggestion that such silly
trivalities as rules, traditions and
professional red tape should be al
lowed to stand as an honest argu-
ment against rolling them all into
a ball and tossing them into the
nearest ash can.
y
There are anv number Of potentially
great games in all parts of the country
that could be lined Up and exploited by
the newspapers between now and the nTst
Of December There is no reason why
Fordham or Columbia, for instance.
shouldn't accept the SportsmanllSe chaI-
lenge OF Chick Meehan's ". Y. U. squad;
Nor is there any reason why Harvard ana
Princeton shouldn't forget their petty az
ferences and come back to the gridiron on
r hesis of mutual friendship.
q
And the same goes for Army and Navy,
natural rivals. kept apart heretofore more
nv Ieather-Iunxed politicians than any
smoldeFing enmity on the part Of the
players.
these three games alone would yield
more than q million dollars. And Just
as MANY equally attractive games could
Be arranged in the middle west, the
southwest, the south and the far west.
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