Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 February 1920 — LISTEN TO THE SQUAWK FROM MEDARYVILLE [ARTICLE]

LISTEN TO THE SQUAWK FROM MEDARYVILLE

It was with a great deal of amusement which later turned to disgust that we read the squawk manufactured .by the Medaryville 'Journal in its current issue telling of the defeat of its wonder five of basket ball players in this city last week. To anyone who saw the game the wail is ridiculous. The referee spoken of is a member of the St Joseph varsity five and was playing the game when Medaryville still labored under the impression that basket ball was the name of some new kind of breakfast food. The wail of the loser is the most disgusting wail on earth, and such wails generally come from the small town citizens who let their boys grow up until they are about twen-ty-five years of age and then place them in high school to play basket ball on a court that should be used as a clothes closet where their weight and brawn will give them the opportunity of squelching cleverness and speed on the part of their opponents, Medaryville came to Rensselaer to play on a regulation court and were bewildered by the speed of the home five and overawed by the sight of such a fine basket ball court. They were as a rube visiting a big city for the first time. They were as awkward as a piece of bologna and were about as much at home on a 'basket ball floor as a washlady would be on a tennis court.

Medaryville—that town where the basket ball team plays in a 2x4 garage with a cement floor through the middle of which runs a water trough; that town where the automobiles must be taken from the garage and placed in the street before the referee can toot his whistle. Fie! For shame, Medaryville, that you should act up so. You make us feel so foolish. • Wiggle through the following from the Journal of Medaryville: “Buffalo Bill, in days gone by, or ganized a wild west show with which to tour the country. He’s dead now and the show has gone to pieces, but if he were still living and were to stop in the little town of Rensselaer in our neighboring county to witness a basketball game, we feel sure that he would find some players there that he would back his Indians and cowboys into the shade when it comes to rough rid-

ing. Yes, we had a basketball game there last Friday night and we are not kicking over the result. We were told by teams as far away as Brook that Rensselaer thought it a disgrace to be beaten on their home floor and of course it would have 'been humiliating to have suffered a little town like Medaryville to defeat its dear little basket ball team. But it sure was pathetic to see the means they had to use to win. In the very beginning of the game Rensselaer made two fouls and Douglas scored on each free throw. Accordingly, the referee decided it would not do to let our boys have any more free throws, -soaccording to the referee Rensselaer made no more fouls. " From that time Rensselaer was allowed to use any means to win and our boys were made to play basketball. There were no held balls near the Rensselaer basket, but all were held balls at the other—the only thing being necessary for a held ball there was for a Rensselaer man to be at that end of the floor. Again and again the referee handed the lead to Rensselaer and again and again they lost it. They did not have the stamina and ability to hold our boys and without the referee’s aid the game would have been as one sided as the game Rensselaer played over here. Our boys played one of their best games of the season and the game was really theirs. When a referee hands the game to the other side it is no disgrace to lose. But as we said above it was expected, but it. really was funny the means Rensselaer had to use to win, but then just between the two of us Rens- i selaer felt it would be detrimental to her dignity to permit Medaryville, i a little town,. you win. I