Page Eight 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



^nOope 



I i \T OUR recent baseball meetings," 

 ■i^ says County Adviser C. E. Burns 

 of Champaign, "it was generally 

 agreed that a farmer will do more 

 work in a week if he takes Saturday 

 afternoon off to play baseball, or watch 

 a game." 1 



Ten men joined the Champaign 

 County Farm Bureau last year because 

 they became interested in Farm Bu- 

 reau baseball. | 



George Huff, director of athletics 

 at the University of Illinois, writes 

 that a player or athlete does not lose 

 his amateur standing unless he accepts 

 pay for participating in games. If he 

 plays in a game where admission is 

 charged, or if he accepts expense 

 money to and from games, his ama- 

 teur standing is not impaired. 



Donald Kirkpatrick, I. A. A. legal 

 counsel, says that neither the team nor 

 the Farm Bureau can be held liable for 

 injury to a player in a Farm Bureau 

 baseball game unless such player re- 

 ceives pay and hence may be construed 

 as an employee. 



Approximately 50 directors, officers, 

 farm advisers, team managers, and 

 players attended the regular spring 

 baseball meeting at Peoria, Mar. 29. 

 Coach Lundgren left for the south 

 with the mini nine the day before, and 

 could not attend the meeting. Assist- 

 ant Coach Jordan acquired a wisdom 

 tooth the day before and sent his re- 

 Errets. 



Nevftrtheless it was a lively, inter- 

 esting meeting that lasted from 10 

 a. m. to 4:00 in the afternoon. Play- 

 ing rules were tightened up and plans 

 made for a more business-like admin- 

 istration in 1929. Nearly all the cen- 

 tral and northern Illinois Farm Bureau 

 baseball teams were represented. In 

 additioj, Hancock, Lee, and Ford 

 counties — all entering teams for the 

 first time — were there. ; 



Following are the more important 

 rules adopted, in brief: 



1. Saturday, May 11, was sug- 

 gested for the opening games. Satur- 

 day, Aug. 17, is the absolute deadline 

 for all official preliminary games within 

 districts. 



2. Each district or division shall 

 have a dictator who shall be the district 

 chairman. It will be his duty to pass 

 on eligibility of players, settle disputes 

 and misunderstandings, interpret and 

 apply rules, appoint umpires when con- 

 tending teams can't agree. The dis- 

 trict dictator's decision ; are subject to 



review and confirmation or reversal by 

 the State Arbitration Committee. 



3. Each team shall deposit a $25 

 certified check with the League treas- 

 urer as a forfeit for failure to report 

 for a regularly scheduled game when 

 satisfactory postponement arrange- 

 ments have not been made. The dis- 

 trict dictator has authority to declare 

 when a game and the $25 is forfeited 

 to the offended team. 



4. All teams must file a list of eli- 

 gible players with the State League 

 secretary 10 days prior to the opening 

 game. The secretary shall transmit 

 copies of such lists to the district dic- 

 tator and to county directors. 



5. The Spaulding Rule Book shall 

 be official guide. 



6. All teams must pay their dues 

 by May 1, although new teams may en- 

 ter later, providing each team in the 

 affected district agrees to such entry. 



The State Arbitration Committee, 

 empowered to render the final decision 

 in all disputes is: President, L. R. Welk, 

 Lincoln; vice-president, Paul Meharry, 

 Tolono, and Geo. L. Clarke, Downs, 

 McLean county. 



Stephenson county expects to enter 

 a Farm Bureau team in the State 

 League. Macon, Vermilion, Wabash 

 and several other counties are showing 

 an interest in baseball. 



Fifty-seven attended the recent 

 baseball meetings in Champaign coun- 

 ty. Of these 15 were new men, nine 

 were on the county team last year, and 

 33 played on unit or community Farm 

 Bureau teams. 



The State League will handle pool 

 orders for baseballs. Send cash with 

 order to the secretary, 608 So. Dear- 

 born St., Chicago. The League can 

 buy all kinds of baseball and athletic 

 equipment at special wholesale prices. 



Liability 



"Is the Farm Bureau liable for damage in 

 case an onlooker at the game is injured by a 

 broken bat or ball beine used in a game 

 where admission is charsed or where collection 

 or donation is taken at the game? 



"Also in case bleachers are used and some 



one is injured from a fall from bleacher seats, 



is the Farm Bureau liable if admission has 



been charged or a collection has been taken? 



"Wayne A. Gilbert, 



"Tazewell County, Illinois." 



Reply : 



I AM of the opinion that there is a 

 possibility of liability under the 

 facts stated in the first paragraph 

 above. 



"I am also of the opinion that the 

 County Farm Bureau would be liable 

 when it charges admission to a baseball 

 game, if through any negligence on its 

 part a person who has paid admission 

 receives injury through the crushing of 

 the bleachers. 



"Donald Kirkpatrick, 

 "Legal Counsel, Illinois Agricul- 

 tural Association." 



Why not organize a Farm Bureau 

 baseball team in your county and have 

 a little recreation along with work? 



New T. B. Bill Before 



General Assembly 



t r ■ 



Will Bring About Compulsory Testing 



r^OMPULSORY testing of all cattle 

 ^ in Illinois for tuberculosis to fin- 

 ish the job of cleaning up the state 

 will be brought about with the pass- 

 age of H. B. No. 157 introduced by 

 Representative Homer J. Tice of 

 Menard county. 



An interesting hearing on the bill 

 was held before the Agricultural Com- 

 mittee in the House on April 9. The 

 bill is an administration measure and 

 is designed primarily to institute test- 

 ing in those counties which have not 

 employed county veterinarians be- 

 cause of lack of funds. At the pres- 

 ent time the state is more than 75 per 

 cent cleaned up, but unless a measure 

 of this kind is passed the job may 

 never be finished. At least a dozen 

 or more counties have failed to make 

 local appropriations for tuberculosis 

 eradication work. 



H. B. No. 517 will place the direc- 

 tion of the work in the State Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture and thus cen- 

 tralize authority. In this way it is 

 thought the work will be expedited. 

 The state may have a tuberculosis- 

 free area within a relatively short 

 time. S. J. Stanard, director of agri- 

 culture, is of the opinion an appro- 

 priation similar to those voted hereto- 

 fore will be sufficient since the per- 

 centage of reactors has been decidedly 

 reduced within the past two years. 



Earl C. Smith, president of the Illi- 

 nois Agricultural Association, stated 

 that such legrislation is necessary to 

 clean up the state, but that if some 

 of the northern Illinois counties wish 

 to retain their county veterinarians a 

 solution for this problem should be 

 worked out. 



Representative Homer Tice, Direc- 

 tor S. J. Stanard, H. R. Smith, Don 

 Geyer of the Pure Milk Association, 

 and others spoke in behalf of the bill. 

 Mr. Tice contends that the bill is nec- 

 essary because many counties do noi 

 have the funds to carry on this work. 

 Representative McCarty of Kane 

 county asked for an amendment giv- 

 ing the counties the privilege of keep- 

 ing their county veterinarians if they 

 desired — the state to pay part of 

 their salaries. 



The bill was referred to a sub-com- 

 mittee of five which is to report back 

 to the Agricultural Committee at a 

 later date. The subcommittee will 

 iron out minor differences of opinion 

 and recommend certain changes in the 

 original draft. 



All interests were friendly to the 

 measure and it is thought that no dif- 

 ficulty will be encountered in voting 

 it out favorably. If it becomes law 

 Illinois within the next few years will 

 be one of the few states classed as a 

 modified accredited area. 



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