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Show THE RICH COUNTY REAPER. RANDOLPH. UTAH : ! ! ; The End in Sight? Speaking of Sports it A LL is not quiet on the Western conference football front. This was brought to light when Olympic Funds Are Headache To Committee By ROBERT McSHANE 'NCE every four years Uncle l I Sam must find a way to raise funds with which to send amateur athletes to the Olympic games, wherever they are held, This year the Olympic committee will stage a stamp day" to raise the $400,000 necessary to transport and care for athletes at the Finland games. Which means the commit-- 1 tee will have to take upon itself the trouble and expense of selling sufficient stamps to pay the way for a delegation representing the U. S. Several countries grant govern-- , ment subsidies to Olympic teams. This country does not. The U. S. team is dependent entirely upon the stamp 'proceeds of a tag day, day, or some other similar well- meaning but inefficient method of ; ' ' I raising money. Just as regularly as the games themselves, the committee, under the direction of President Avery Brundage, is forced to report, near the end of the fund campaign, that sufficient funds have not been forth-- i coming and that it may be necessary to curtail the number of athletes to cut expenses. It isnt the best publicity for Uncle Sam when word reaches other countries that the richest nation in the world can-safford the comparatively small expense incurred by its athletes. Not long ago Arthur Eilers, executive secretary of the Missouri Valley conference, wanted to add' one penny tax to the price of each big college football ticket annually. Though this would be put into practice in only the larger schools, the proceeds would be such that the committee could forget all about their money worries. There would be sufficient revenue to meet any and all expenses of the team. 9 Big Ten athletic representatives met recently to discuss the matter ol recruiting and subsidizing football players. The officials evidently realized that they have dealt in generalities all too long, and have decided to take direct action. And back of this direct action is the desire to start a nation-wid- e movement which will sharply divide intercollegiate athletics into two classes one class opbasis, erating on the and the other simon-pur- e as regards the subsidizing of athletes. Western Conference Commissioner John L. Griffith is not unaware that various Big Ten schools may have sinned in the matter of paid athletes. But he proposes that the OUR COMIC SECTION play-for-p- ay ot A. A. U. College Friction The surprising feature is that the Amateur Athletic Union, godfather to Americas Olympic teams, flatly refused Eilers offer. At least one logical reason for the refusal has been advanced. It is the friction between the A. A. U. and the colleges for control of the Olympic team. In the past, and to a smaller degree at present, the colleges AVERY BRUNDAGE ... is usually and cient funds Americas team. forced to report insuffipossible curtailment of felt they should control the committee due to the large number of college men on the teams. In addition, many of the other athletes out of school for only a short time, were coached and trained by college mentors. To some degree this friction has been removed through increasing college representation on the committee. It is to be regretted that the committee takes this stand. As a business proposition it leaves little to be desired as a means to raise money with which to meet Olympic expenses. No one who could afford from $1.50 to $5.00 for a football ticket would object to paying one cent extra for such a worthy cause. This fund could be handled at no additional cost by the colleges, and would eliminate the expenses associated with the printing, distribution and selling of stamps. On the basis of one cent per ticket any football game drawing 50,000 spectators not an unusually large crowd would contribute $500 to the fund. Many games draw almost twice as many. So it would be a simple matter to collect the necessary $400,000 in four years. Only 800 games with an attendance of 50,000 each would guarantee that amount. Until the committee finds an acceptable plan, Olympic teams will be forced to rely upon voluntary from the public. At best this method is inefficient and and leaves much to be con-tributio-ns ly house be put in order so the Western conference can refuse to play any of the group when schedules are being considered. In his own words: It is maniplay-for-p- festly unfair ay a competition for school which may have boys actually working their way through school in a legitimate way asked to meet boys who are subsisting on a regular salary, as is the case in some sections. On the heels of this meeting came the announcement from Ann Arbor that 50 University of Michigan athletes, representing every varsity y sport, strongly advocated a policy in the Big Ten. The athletes, in a letter to the campus newspaper, claimed there is a great deal of ignorance of the conditions under which members of the university teams are forced to live; the difficulties they face in financing their education, and the sacrifices they make for their college. This letter fully indorsed a recent editorial appearing in the college paper which called for three meals a day for football playefs, tuition scholarships for all athletes, and action through the Big Ten athletic organization to provide for standard rules of subsidization for all schools of the conference. Contrary as they may seem, the opinions of both students and officials have something in common. The students want open, aboveboard subsidization. The officials want none of it. But they both want an end to the present underhanded system. It is unlikely that much regard will be paid to the undergraduate requests. Most college boys are apt to' overshoot the mark in attempting to win their point. Never has there been a more logical time for schools throughout the nation to solve once and for all the question of paid players. Not even the most optimistic can find anything to be proud of under the present system. It teaches youthful athletes that the only crime is in being caught and that clever cheating v pays good dividends. Regardless of the outcome, any change will be an advantage over the present system of proselytizing and subsidization. play-for-pa- G M. Payne WNU hip-pock- et Sport Shorts A TEAM of six Argentina golf professionals will tour England this year . . . The Rood twins, Carl and Bill, who are 5 feet 6 inches tall and weigh 135 pounds each, are of the University of North Carolina tennis team. Each won nine and lost one of their first 10 1939 singles matches . . . Tony Lazzeri was the fourteenth player Bill Terry has tried at third base since he became manager of the Giants seven years ago . . . Casey Stengel says he changed from an ordinary to a good hitter when he learned to hit that outside ball to left instead of pulling it . . . Madison Square Garden in New York claims a record softball gate of for a benefit game staged by Bob Ripley, 12,-2- (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) v By By J. Millar Watt 16 WNU |