FOOTBALL.

NZ Truth, Issue 138, 8 February 1908, Page 3

FOOTBALL.

{By "Pakeha.") ! . Unsportsmanlike Criticism. Tha Value of Advertisement. - The "T«pics/of the Day" scribe of the Post" has been airing his opinions— or rather those of the parsons: from whom he accepts filthy late* as a hired mercenary — on the seeeod "All Blacks" professional team, tati. with that true love of sportsajftoship which -characterises the writer* :in the daily Sup-press, he proems- to give Baskeville's boys a kick w&ilsri they are hors de combat. The g»»ftt Suppress of the Dominion has b«_B __a_uly occupied m quoting * re^ e_ftc__ frcan Your own correspond- • eiita" ia irogard to the doings of the^ Mliadlauders, and anything that told' fn; thair iavor they carefully suppressed tec .r«asftßs of their own, or, ra•'fifeoß,; .ha reasons. of the proprietors, fo "whom they have sold themselves, b#dy wid soul. The '.? Athletic News" — ma. firs, paper, m the Old Land, so >f__.*c outdoor sports are concerned— ka£ wlogused the splendid fight .<*a* k?._, been "put up by the Maorilaadicrs ia a gSnie to which they were quite., new, and other recognis- .: od. 'ai'<t»pr.itifts have .written well of ; Basty , lie's hoys and sympathised with them m the trials they have had i« t_.c shape of injured players. * **-At ter. the dazzling exploits of tho amateurs, the professionals appear very, drab;*' writes, the "topical" man, and m that sentence there is a lot of truth. The amateurs— guinea A '<• week. pfofession,als is the proper description,— certainly did exploit amateurism, .Why this talkative man of topics, should go but of his way to cast a slur tipph New Zealanders who havo the cburage of their convbtfems aid have braved public opini ion and, cannot fye said to have sunk tllcir opinions for gold, as he hiimself has done, is altogether incomprehensible., If the "Post" proprietary arc so keen on the preservation of unadul terated . amateurism , they should have cut into the exploits of the- K",Z.R.TJ. team, the members of " rMch, by the connivance ofthe cxc- ' cuiive, deliberately broke the rules ot the parent bo_y by becoming three shillings a day 'professionals, hut that did. do. suit' the capitalistic "Post." T._a executive of the N.Z,R.U. were sndbs, "dont oher know," and had to ho. excused, and the "Post" tolerated their slits • 'U'nrepr6ved. , But \srliat would he said of the Chief Justice M ne allowed an offender off scot free .because ho had only stolen a guinea per ■'■wiee-'.: .whilst on^ the other band se_i'te_xsi_2 another prisoner who' -had aocopted a larger sum of public money according to agrce-i inert*, to a term .of imprisonment 7 yptv-«ja't "is;, just 7what the "Post" has AO3ML ,vtt ba_ 'condoned one offeoo6 by me« who sit m. high places. fait unjustly' brands ethers who have keen - hohpst' m- their dealings. WithtHrt ..ifeiraarUag from the first team's porfeEmance. rt must be remembevrd y,„t t*i»v did not, 'priest the strong tc* ms IfejjjVaViile's boys have had to tattle with, and if they had done so It is UoOvlv pvobable that they would hot lhAf©i.,sared any. better -than Bas" fc e^ilp__ team '"has. d-.ne. Another

point is that whilst George Smith, McGregor, Johnstone and Co. were content with three shillings per day, they were just the milky white boys, but whien they take the business into their own hands and make a "do" of it they are branded as "Hacks,* ' etc. That is the sole point that annoys the "Post" proprietary and- its writers. They have shaken off the shackles of officialdom (equivalent to capitalism) and have gone m for Socialism by arranging to procure for themselves the entire fruits of their earnings. The hired mercenary writer of the "Post" has doubtless carried out the contract he entered into wh-p-n he sold his soul to the capitalistic press. • What is the cause of all this press opposition ? Simply that if the players are to receive a fair share of their earnings, then nat-< urally there would be less* *or the plundering press to whack at, consequently the capitalistic press must support the corrupt N.Z.R.U. m its cheap labor attitude, otherwise there will be no pickings for the newspaper proprietors. But the same press which objects to- ■ the professional footballer booms that cronk, crooked concern, the "Plunderland" pony joint, and also gives columns .to the professional racing concerns at Tren • thnm and elsewhere, because they arc subsidised with fat advertisements So far the professional footballer ban not had the necessity to advertise m tho daily press, but the time is coming when the paid football player will have the privilege of giving 1 big advertising orders, and " when that time arrives "Topics of the Day" I man will have to do his employers' bidding and crack up tlie revenue- I producing professor. That the pro- ] of him, has come to stay is beyond ; question, and probably an aiithorita- j tivc body will be formed during next season. It is simply the absence of | any competent authority that has .j been the cause of some of the match- 1 es being lost during the present tour j of the Old Country. Had there been a body here attached to the Northern Rugby Union, .then an independent manager could have accompanied the: team whose word would have- .been law, and he would have been- obeyed properly m regard to training. >As it is there appears to --tie-- no doubt. that some of the boys have got put ; *of hand, but that is riot the fault of the game, but of individuals. At 'the next annual meeting of the .N.Z.R.U. . there promises to be some excitement, but reference to the cause will be made at a Inter period. Just now ii is advisable to s&y ; nothing. Pernaps the "Topics of the Day" man^ may know something of what is goiiig on behind the scenes, but if he does ,4te, is adopting the. same attitude as he did m regard to the . exploiting of amateurism by the official team, and "like as a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opens Jie not his mouth." And why? Echo answers, ' Why ? Jim McManaway, of N.S.W. Rugby fame, is receiving .the cpngratula^ tionS' of his many toeball friends on his promotion to the militia rank of Major. There are plenty of Rugby people m Sydney who come to the conclusion that two officials should go to England nexf "season, with the N7S.Wteam, one as manager and the other as assistant. Jiniray McMa-hon' is spoken of m one of . these capacities. It cannot be gainsaid that the amount of clerical and other work to be done .on a British tour is too much .for a manager whb.isheld responsible for the organisation and good condition of the team on the field of Play. ; It is yet a far cry! to the local senior ' competitions, but perhaps •it would be of interest even at this early hour to state that Poneke is likely to get the services of Gardner, the Old Boys' winger, when the tussle for supremacy starts m real earnest. Instone is back again from Greymouth so I hear ; but whether .he will don the red and black jersey once more is problematical. Wellington Rugby Union expects to show a profit of about £150 on last season's workings. With £700 on fixed deposit, and £200 more m cash, the Union's finances read very healr thy indeed. They would have been better but for Jupiter Pluvius's capers on the occasion of the TaranakiWellington match. Another professional Rugby club has been formed m Sydney; the Balmain Club. The inaugural meeting was largely attended and there was great enthusiasm. , TMie man m the street, who often knows a lot about what is goin^ on m the inner circle, says that .quite a number of New Zealand's best players of last season have come to an understanding not to play m any representative matches unless reimr bursed for the loss of time while absent from work. The writer won't vouch for the accuracy, of the statement, though he wouldn't be surprised if it were true.' There is m Wellington at the present time, so I am given to understand, a Welsh player who took pjirt m the Cardiff-All Blacks match, and who rejoices m the popular name of Smith. The aforesaid Smith is going to play for Poneke, so rumor says, and his presence m the red-and-black vanguard should be very acceptable. Poneke has also got hold of another top-notcher from elsewhere. Paul Roos, who captained the "iSpringiboks"- dnrimg their tour m the United Kingdom, has retired from active participation m football. • "