Harper's Round Table, December 22, 1896

by Various

Everybody knows, of course, that no enterprise, not even sport in the truest amateur spirit, can be carried on without the expenditure of some money. The railroads will not carry amateurs free of charge, nor will tailors furnish them with football suits for nothing. Therefore it is necessary that the Association have some revenue. This is usually obtained in one of two ways, either by subscriptions levied in the various schools or by charging admission-fees at the more important games. The latter is in many respects the better, because it distributes the taxation over a greater number of people.

If, however, at the end of the year it is found that the revenues are greater than the expenses, the treasurer of the Association should profit by this knowledge to do away with certain features of taxation the next year; for his endeavor should be to collect only just the amount of money that is needed to defray the legitimate expenses of the several football teams under his care.

The very fact of dividing up money at all savors of professionalism, but when you come to dispose of it in proportion to the success of the teams, the offence is made even worse. Any of these elevens in question that accepts a dividend makes itself liable to charges of professionalism, and a strict interpretation of the ethics of sport would find it guilty. It is to be hoped that the Connecticut Association will recognize this fact as soon as it is pointed out to them, and reconsider the proposition of sending $50 to each team. If the money were left in the treasury of the Association it would be a different affair entirely from dealing it out to the treasuries of the various schools that played in the League.

The simple fact that $100 is held by the Central Treasury for next year's expenses shows that the $400 is considered as a surplus or profit. Therefore any team that accepts such profit puts itself in a dangerous position, so far as its amateur standing is concerned. As I understand the case—and as it should be, if it is not—the treasurer of the Association defrays the expenses of the several teams upon requisition of the several managers. Therefore he alone should handle the moneys of the Association, and next year, when the expenses begin again, it is he who should provide what is necessary.

The $400 now standing to the account of the Connecticut Association should be devoted to the maintenance of that Association, and not to the benefit of the individuals who make up its membership. The fact that there is so much money on hand will make it very well possible for the games next year to be carried on without the charge of an admission-fee, or it will enable the managers to present this year a trophy of some kind to the winning team, or they might even go to the extravagance of presenting the eleven champions with some small souvenir, as is frequently done in the colleges, such as a gold football for a watch-charm.

The misunderstanding which has occurred in the New England Interscholastic Football League, and which was spoken of briefly in this Department last week, may be briefly stated as follows: The constitution of the Association as published in book form requires that fifteen days' notice of the eligibility of any player be given in writing to the secretary before the date of playing. At the beginning of the season the Boston Journal was voted the official organ of the Association, and on October 30 that paper published a part of the constitution, but omitted entirely any reference to the fifteen-day clause. The same article contained also the names of the various players for the schools, and was published on the first day of the games of the interscholastic series.

THE CAMBRIDGE MANUAL-TRAINING SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM.

The Cambridge Manual-Training School acknowledges the rule in the constitution which requires a fifteen-day notice, but pleads ignorance for not having complied with it in the case of one of its players, urging its belief that the fifteen-day clause had been stricken out, since it did not appear in the constitution as published by the Boston Journal, the official organ of the Association, on October 30. The donors of the cup for which the teams contest have the power to change the constitution as they wish. C.M.-T.S. thought that the donors had availed themselves of this privilege when they saw the constitution printed in the Journal without the fifteen-day clause.

The player whose name was not submitted to the committee is S. S. Merrill, who played end on the Worcester Academy team last season. This year he has been a member of the Burdett Business College of Boston, playing end on its football team until he changed to Cambridge Manual-Training School. He entered Cambridge Manual-Training School October 26, and his name was sent to the Executive Committee November 9. On November 13 Merrill played against Hopkinson's, and the game was protested by the latter school inside the allotted time for protests. In the games with Boston Latin and English High, on November 17 and November 20 respectively, Merrill also played, and while these games were protested by the two schools their claims were on different grounds than those of Hopkinson's. Boston Latin's protest related to Merrill not being a member of Cambridge Manual fifteen days before playing, which was not sustained according to statistical proof from the principal of Cambridge Manual. English High's protest was on a question of fact, and an article of the constitution settled that.