Jasper County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 November 1906 — JUST ANOTHER PART OF THE “GAME.” [ARTICLE]

JUST ANOTHER PART OF THE “GAME.”

Persistent efforts have been made ever since The Democrat was established, nearly nine years ago, by a certain element in Rensselaer to do it injury; to discredit anything appearing in its columns, and to keep patronage from coming to it. Notwithstanding all these efforts to “down” it The Democrat has gone right ahead, gaining friends and business each year. Every “knock” has beeu a “boost” and today it is printing 1,800 copies each issue, as many as all the other papers of Rensselaer combined, and 500 more than any other one paper in Jasper county. The reasons for this are obviousf The Democrat has opinions and expresses them It has always stood for law and order and all that goes to make good citizenship. No one ever saw a line in its columns favoring any vices or condoning wrong-doing of any kind whatever. It has ever stood between the grafter and the taxpayer, and its well known policy to publicly expose wrongs in public office bas saved the taxpayers of the county many thousands of dollars each year. Such a policy must inevitably meet the approval of all good citizens, and the efforts of the rowdy and law-breaking class, the grafter and the would-be grafter to injure the paper have only added to its popularity. One of the latest efforts in this line came up last Saturday and grows out of that notorious Sunday football game at Lowell a few

Sundays ago. A prominent citizen of Rensselaer, a few days after this game, banded us in the names of three of the high school lootball players, who, he said, played in this Sunday game, and requested that we publish them together with mention of the fact that the rules of the high school atheletic association strictly prohibited a member of a high school team participating in Sunday games or “scrub” games, his idea, as we understood, being to put a stop to the high school boys playing in

Sunday games more than anything else. In connection with other mention of the matter, men* tion was made of the report that these boys had played, but their names were not published. The Democrat had no personal interest in the matter whatever except that which everyone, we believe, ought to have against school boys participating in Sunday football games, and especially going to other towns to play. The matter was gnded as far as this paper was concerned, but it seems someone sent a marked copy of The Democrat of that issue to the manager of the Lafayette team that was to play here last Saturday, and on their arrival here he sought information regarding the truth of the statement. As usual, offorts were made to discredit it because it appeared in The Democrat, but the gentleman interviewed one or two who were in attendance at the Lowell game, Rev. Rindig, who had referred to the matter in his Sunday night sermon, and the editor of this paper. The latter, in defending the truth of the statement, did give him in this interview the nameß of the boys as handed in, but declined to divulge the name of the party who gave the information, which was done at the latter’s request. The Democrat had nothing to conceal then nor has nothing to conceal now.

He satisfied himself of the truth of the statement that the boys did play, and gave notice that he should protest against their playing in Saturday’s game. Mr. Gray, manager of our high school team, then made a little investigation, so he says—although he could easily have found out before—and also “satisfied” himself that the story was correct, and these particular boys were not allowed to play in the Saturday game. Then, having failed to convince the Lafayette manager that Tbe Democrat had lied—but, on the contrary, having established beyond a question of doubt that it was correct, as nsnal—the enemies of this paper started the report that The Democrat man had written to the Lafayette manager and told him of their playing, or had sent him a marked copy of the paper containing mention of the matter.

As a matter of fact, The Democrat man knows nothing whatever about who sent the -paper to the Lafayette man, nor it doesn’t care a rap. It was not sent from this office, that we do know, nor have we any idea of who did send it. We print 1800 copies each week, that go out all over the country, besides some extras are sold, and The Democrat is not alone in its opinion of football. If someone else sent it, that is their business and not ours. The Democrat’s views on the game are well known, and what it lias to say, it says openly. It believes the game is worse than prizefighting, bull-fighting or dog-fight-ing, and ought to be abolished by law. It breeds lying, cheating and rowdyism, and has no place in our public schools—serving no good purpose whatever. Its views, we are glad to say, are endorsed by the laity generally and by thousands of prominent educators, including several college presidents, and we hope a sentiment will finally be worked up over the country that will forever put a ban on the game. Whatever may have been the object of the party who sent the paper to the Lafayette manager, it may serve a good purpose, in that it will probably compel our team to be as clean from irregularities as it would be the first to demand other teams should be.