The Washington times., 1930-11-14
Today's
Spo!rtorial
BY KIRK MILLER


Army Athletic Association, Of
West Point, N. Y, is said to be
in a mood to waive all barriers
and play Navy this year for
charity.
The proposal, as it seeps into
washington. is for the two
teams to meet at Yankee sta
dium, New York, on December
13, the total proceeds to go TO
relieve the unemployment situa-
ton which has beset the coun-
try.
While General Smith states
in his message to Admiral Rob
ison that Army's acceptance OF
the Navy's proffer to play the
game this year in behalf OF the
unemployed is not to be taken
in the way of a renewal Of the
original football relationship,
football fans may take that
stipulation with a grain Of salt.
Our guess is that If this
charity game is played this fall,
its duplicate will be played next
fall, but not necessarily for
charity. All that has been
needed to re-eStablish football
contacts between the two acad-
emies has been to break through
the starch and red tape. Both
sides have had plenty Of dignity
up their spineS since relations
were broken off, and once this
perfectly justifiable reserve has
been pierced, 1t will be impossi-
BILE to keep the teams apart IN
ensuing years.
There never has been a
breaking off Of football rela-
tions within or without the
service schools that wasn't
regretted all around after things
cooled down a bit. We have
talked with dozens of graduates
from both institutions who have
declared the Ar1iy-Navy game
means more to the two insti-
tutions than any other thing in
their entire Academy lives.
Harvard and Princeton men
feel the same way, that is
those who are removed a year
or two from the actual break,
Hundreds who have come into
those two Universities since the
break and thousands who had
passed through their portals
before the tsreak, feel hot
headedness and a little too
much self importance brought
about the unnecessary severance
of football friendships.
!. And so it is with Georgetown
and Virginia, Pennsylvania and
Princeton, Columbia and New
Yory, University and other less
notorious ruptures OF athletic
relationships. If one person
who would gladly dig into mis-
pockets to pay $5 to see George
town and Virginia has men
toned the hope for renewal OF
their former famous football
game a thousand have, in the
past decade.
All of which has little to do
with the Army-Navy resump-
ton, as General Smith says, FOR
this year only. If neither side
recedeS from the positions they
seemed to have held up to the
acceptance of Navy's terms
by Army yesterday afternoon,
then the game can be counted
on as a certainty, and we be-
lieve, as we mentioned above.
if they meet this year, they'll
meet next year and next and
next.
AS to the winner Of the. Army
Navy game, that is entirely in
cidental in the minds Of both
services which are today ironing
:out the details thereof. Navy
certainly couldn't have picked a
less propitious year and Army
couldn't have picked a more
propitious year, the teams enjoy
ing quite opposite fortunes
afield.
But ali of that is to be forgot
ten in an effort to produce in
the neighborhood of a quarter OF
a million dollars to stay Starva-
tinn and want in a land which
is in the throes of an economic
slump.
Significant in the latest move
to re-establish this great service
football classic is the genial and
humanitarian character sites
shown by those two individuals,
Gen. William r. Smith, of Army,
and Admiral s. S. Robson, Of
Navy. Yesterday they got to-
gether like two gallantS and
threw aside all barriers.
Soldiers and gentlemen, we
calls 'ern. and if the truth be
known the pair of them person
ally would have liked to have
done this long before.