“Fellows,” he announced, “for some time, in fact for something over a year, there has been a general feeling of dissatisfaction over the condition of athletics here at Riverport.” (Loud applause greeted this.) “I’m not prepared to say where the trouble lies, but there is trouble.” (“There’s going to be more!” cried an irrepressible prep.) “We have not won, either in base-ball, rowing, hockey or foot-ball, a fair proportion of our contests. Just at present football is the—er—dominant issue, and we will confine our attention to that. Last year out of nine games played we won—” he referred to a paper here—“we won five. The five, however, were all early games with weaker teams. Of the remaining games we tied one and lost three, among them that with our chief rival, Adams Academy. This year we have so far played only three games, but the showing of our team has not been satisfactory. I think most of us agree to that.” (“You bet we do!” shouted a voice, and there was much laughter and applause.) “Langton, who will speak to you next, has something to say as to the reasons for our ill-success. Meanwhile I think I have said enough to show you that there is sufficient reason for this meeting.”
“Fellows,” said Rob, when the meeting had quieted down again, “I can’t talk like Wellington. He’s got me beat. But what I want to say is this. You know and I know that for the last two or three years the foot-ball teams we’ve turned out haven’t represented—haven’t—hang it, they haven’t been the best teams we could turn out, not by a long shot! And I challenge any one to deny it. Adams has beaten us four games out of five in the last five years, and she will do it again this year. That isn’t right, and it isn’t necessary. Now is it?”
“No!”
“You bet it isn’t! Why, we’ve got plenty of good material here at Riverport, just as good, every bit as good, as Adams has. But something’s wrong. Wellington said I was going to give my opinions as to what the matter is. Well, I’m not. I’ve got them, all right, but this meeting isn’t called to find out what the trouble with the foot-ball team is. It’s called to decide whether it won’t be a good idea to have an independent eleven that shall be representative of the school—to form an association for that purpose. I don’t want you to think I’m trying to be the whole thing here to-night, but I’ve been kind of thinking it out and if you don’t mind I’ll tell you my ideas. Then you can say what you think of them.”
“Go ahead!”
“You’re all right, Lanky!”
“Let’s hear them!”
“Well, now suppose we form an association to be called the Independent Football Association. We elect officers. Then we issue a call for candidates for a football team and appoint a temporary captain—”
“I suppose that’ll be you, what!” called Carter.
“Cut it out, Carter!”