Show EXODUS OF BILLIARDISTS I I Schaefer Barutel Howison and Sutton Going to France Experts Said to Be Falling Off in Skill i I I American blUIardplayora are going to Franco In force Champion Schaefer Schae-fer Barulol and young llowlsoa left Now York on Thursday and Sutton Is making preparations to follow Schae fers recent victory In live International tournament brought forth a challenge from George Sloason which however has not yet been accepted Close students of the game argue that the experts arc falling off in their l skill and point as proof to the slowness slow-ness of all the games In the eighteen Inch balkllne argument They say that the old topnotch experts are fallIng fall-Ing off In their play and that despite this fact the youngsters who Include Sutton ITowison Barutel Mornlngstar and several others are not Improving fast enough to hurry Schaefer or Slos son along To strengthen their claims regarding Schaefers and Slossons slump they point with pride to the Introduction of the game In 180C when Ivea Schaefer and Garner engaged In a threecor scrod handicap match In which Ivesa hcst average was 10T 8 and his grand average 33100 and Schacfer scored a high run of 111 The style oC game I met with the approval of lovers of bll lards and the general verdict was that the game although dlUicuIt fitted the Hgholass experts to a T All the cracks wanted they said was practice prac-tice to ruHlvalo their stroke That seemed to ho the cue as In the following year In championship tournament tour-nament with Ives Schaefer Slo son Daly and Sutton as contestants Ives scored a high average of SOVi better than a third over his first effort and also retired with the high run HO This tourney was held in New York city November 29th to December 4 ISO In Chicago January 17th to 22nd a handicap hand-icap tourney with Ives and Schaefer scratch 100 l > and Splnks Sutton and Catton 260 each > In which Ives and Schaefer tied for tlrst money Schaefer lolled up an average of 40 and registered regis-tered the high run 13S Ivcss grand average for thcour games was 24 1SC5 Taking the high runs high and general gen-eral averages In the games played four and live years ago and comparing them with those played In the recent tournament tourna-ment we find a decrease in speed of 100 per cent in the matter of high runs and fully 250 per cent on high average a terrible falling off How can this be accounted for they ask There Is no getting away from the fact billiards Is an uncertain game stili It is but reasonable topresume that after dabbling at tho game over four years Schaefer and Slosson should at least show the same amount of speed as when the game was In Its infancy In-fancy Billiards Is advancing There are more and a general better class of amateurs today than there were say five years ago still the cracks who arc supposed to set the pace are Judging from the form shown in tho late tourney tour-ney retrograding at breakneck speed |