Evening star., 1932-08-19
+ FUNDS ARE NEEDED
TO PROMOTE GAME.
Money Raised by U. S. L.
T.. A. Distributed to Various
Sectional Bodies.
BY LAWRENCE PERRY.

N yEW YORK, August 19.-
M While the outstanding
Y woman tennis players of
the country are competing
at Forest Hills, thoughts of those
whose concern with amateur
sport is the raising Of funds ade-
quate to insure the carrying on
of the game on scale commen-
surate with its present Importance
and popularity are turned to the
gate prospects of the national
mems singles at Forest Hills next
month.
This emphasis of the financial side
of so essentially an amateur sport as
tennis always strikes the casual observer
as anomalous, If not more than slightly
ironical. While there is a sentimental
warrant for the panied or quizzical
lifting Of brows, there is on the other
hand an overshadowing practical aspect
which, sport being what it is today, may
logically be accepted as justifying the
mercenary angle.
THE United States Lawn Tennis As
l. sociation looks with confidence to
the outpouring Of greater crowds
at the mems national in September
than in any year since 1927, when La
Coste and Tlden met in the finals
the American losing, liz, 11-9, Ga
and four or five thousand frustrated
spectators were turned away from the
stadium.
The intake of the 1927 national was
about 100000. No sum of this dimen-
sion will be raised this year. no matter
how great the attendance. because Of
a reduction from $40 to $3.50 for the
week. But with goodly attendance on
the various days and bumper arena
for the final, the promoters will do very
well indeed. And, doing well, what will
become of the money?
1t will be used to the exalted end
that lawn tennis shall continue to
flourish throughout these United States
tennis, that is to say. of the tourna-
ment brand, wherein younger players
are developed to international caliber
and established players have opportu-
nifty OF keeping their game properly
geared.
To be more explicit, funds raised by
the National Association are distributed
to the various sectional organizations
after expenses have been paid. In 1880,
for example, some $45 900 was sent to
the IL regional associations, the amount
being based upon the size of the bodies
and the number Of clubs affiliated.
The Eastern association received $4,000
and the Western association received
$4,000.
A LII this matter of expense in con-
"A Quoting tennis is more closely
related to the talk you hear of
national Journeys being taken from the
East and staged in other parts of the
country than most persons realize. If
the Middle West, for instance. could
promise larger gates than are earned by
the national Journeys in the East, the
u. S. L. T. A. no doubt would be very
happy to see them shifted. 1t is a
sheer question Of finance, not of Sec
tional pride.
But the fact is that in a popular
sense the sport Of tennis nowhere re-
ceives the support that it does in the
East. There Is no assurance that a
national tourney held at any point from
where near half the crowd that may
be depended upon to patronize SINH
lar event in the vicinity of New
York, Philadelphia or Boston. When
outstanding man and woman players
have competed in the West returns
invariably have been paltry.
OF course, with the Davis Cup chal-
1enge round being played abroad year
after year, weight is annually added
to the claims Of districts other than
the metropolitan for the privilege Of
staging the national events. Philadel-
phia, for instance. She used to divide
with New York, taking the Davis Cup
finals, while New York held the national
Journeys. But with no Davis Cup play
here, and in view of the fact that Phil
adelphia can draw crowds as large, if
not larger than New York, there is a
great deal of weight to the Philadel-
phia demand that she cut in on the big
shows