Evening star., 1931-06-25
BATTLE OF BRIDGE
SWEEPING NATION
Experts of Variety of Sys-
tens Clash, but Outcome
Is Seen Benefit.
BY ROGER BATCHELDER.


| Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, June 25 (N.AE.A).-
The battle of the bridge tables is on.
But unlike most wars, the conflict
| between Ely Culbertson. whose system
is used by host of bridge players, and
authorities like Work, Courtney, White
head and Lenz, will not harm the public.
1t will be q boon, say the experts.
When the smoke clears in about three
weeks, and the new system is given out,
any one who can play. auction will be
able to grasp its purport. Glowing
thoughts of husband and wife speaking
to one another regularly were given out
by Bridge Headquarters, Inc. There
will be single system of Bidding, and
not a conflict between systems, 1t was
said.
Culbertson is standing by his card
packs and will not bulge.
Whitehead went to Europe when the
trouble started.
Courtney, head of the new organiza-
ton, asserts that there is no real con-
troversy, but suggests that when chal-
| lenge is issued the challenged party has
the right to choose the weapons, and
that he will do nothing about matters
until CulbertSon acts like sportsman
WUth OpbAIuAoNus
Work, with no public criticism Of the
CulbertSon Syste n, is certain that con-
tract players will shortly become happy
again.
1T was our idea that something
should be done to give contract to the
masses" said President Courtney to-
night. Something simple, you know,
that they can grasp"
Mr.. Work went into further explana-
tion.
"A multiplicity Of systems has been
influencing the game to its detriment," /"
he averred. If we can have one Sys-
tenn, the situation will Immediately be
improved. Until recently, it never
seemed possible to secure one, because
the authorities held such strong views
in favor OF the systems that they favored
that we could not get together.
After several meetings, giving here
and taking there, we have created a
popular system. The delay in announc-
ing 1t will not be serious. and all will
be very clearly determined before any
announcement is made to the public. "
Mr.. Culbertson, however, made a di-
rect attack. and seemed ready to use
any convenient bridge tables or other
weapons.
The Advisory Board Of Bridge Head
quarters, Inc, he said, which is con-
trolled by a merchandising concern
selling duplicate bri6ge boards, has
promulgated a So-called new 'ofieial'
system of contract which 1t Is now ad-
vocating as standard, and which has
been worked up in the past few weeks
and still Is being worked up.
Members Highly Regarded.
II personally have a high regard for
the members of the board, and appreci-
ate their past splendid contributions to
bridge-the greatest and most popular
OF all intellectual paStimes.
"A handful of individuals, however,
can never proclaim a ukase to the
American people without becoming ri
diculous. Then it Is a well established
fact that what the players choose to
call the CulbertSon system Is what I
prefer to call the approach forcing sys-
tenn, and Is the accepted standard
throughout the world, having become
Official by reason Of the voluntary
choice on the part Of bridge lovers.
1T took me and my assistants more
than ten years to develop, and 1t has
never been changed, except incidentally.
What will the hundreds of tnou-
sands who bought the books Of the ex-
perts and studied their systems think
Of them now? The reaction is bound
to be most unfavorable to bridge"
(Copyright. 1891. by North American News
paper Alliance, 1nc.J