Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 40, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 January 1908 — No Direct Answer To Challenge. [ARTICLE]

No Direct Answer To Challenge.

The Republican recently, over the signature of J. A. McFarland, issued a checker challenge to Wolcott or White county, for a team match game. Altho the challenge was mentioned in Monticello papers no response was received directly, but the prospects of a contest are good, judging from the checker ego exhibited by the Wolcott Enterprise in the following paragraph: “The Enterprise is informed that a Mr. McFarland, of Rensselaer, who claims to be a checker player, has taken up the defy issued by this paper to any checker player in these parts and wants ago with some of our crack players. We respectfully refer him to George Ferguson, W. H. Walker, Karl Jones, James Blake, Tom Robertson, Chas. Martin and others and believe that any one of the bunch named can take his measure. Rensselaer will have to show us that she has a better checkerplayer then -we can produce.” . - - ——- Personally we do not believe any one of the gentlemen named in the Enterprise is equal to the task of defeating Mr. McFarland, but he does not claim to be the entire checker club. Our neighbors will have to meet such other worthies as E. M. Thomas, Sam Stephens, Abe Halleck and W. N. Jordan, and we are not certain but a second team could be selected good enough to handle the crowd the Enterprise has indicated. To bring the matter to an issuejt is directly challenged that Wolcott meet a Rensselaer match te tm, five to eight men on a side at either Rensselaer, Wolcott or Reynolds, some night during the week of January 20 26. Let our confident neighbors now assert themselves.