882 
FOREST AND STREAM 
[Dec. 16, 1911. 
Interstate Association’s Annual Meeting. 
The annual meeting of the stockholders of the Inter¬ 
state Association was held at the Association’s office, 
with the Corporation Trust Company, 15 Exchange 
Place. Jersey City, N. J., on Thursday, Dec. 7, a 2 
o’clock in the afternoon. 
The financial report of the Secretary-Treasurer for the 
past year was presented and ordered to be received and 
filed. 
The financial report of the Secretary-Treasurer, covering 
the registered tournament fund, was then presented. Sum¬ 
marized. this report showed that 199 tournaments were 
registered during the year, of which number, 170 were 
conducted in accordance with the Association’s new 
policy; that $16,750 was contributed by the Association 
to gun clubs, state associations, and leagues of gun clubs; 
that $19,436.89 was paid back to amateurs to cover their 
losses, and that $22,1(1.51 in average money was divided 
among amateurs after all of said losses were paid back. 
Of the 170 tournaments conducted under the new plan, 
only two failed to make good. One of these tournaments 
fell short $10.70, and the other $5.85. 
The annual report of the Secretary-Treasurer, giving 
a resume of the year’s work, was also presented and 
ordered filed. 
The polls having remained open the period prescribed 
by statute, were ordered closed, and the inspectors pre¬ 
sented their report in writing, showing the following 
persons, stockholders of the Association, had received 
the greatest number of votes: 
J. R. Wettstein and P. D. Baresford, of the United 
Lead Co.; A. F. Hebard, F. B. Clark and T. A. Mar¬ 
shall, of Remington Arms-Union Metallic Cartridge Co.; 
J. T. Skelly, T. E. Doremus and L. J. Squier, of the 
E. I. du Pont de Nemours Powder Co.; John Hunter, 
of the Hunter Arms Co.; F. G. Drew, W. R. Clark and 
H. S. Leonard, of the Winchester Repeating Arms Co.; 
W. F. Parker, of Parker Brothers; W. E. Keplinger and 
T. H. Keller, of the Peters Cartridge Co.; Paul North 
and J. II. Webster, of the Chamberlin Cartridge and 
Target Co.; A. H. Durston, of the Lefever Arms Co.; 
Murray Ballou and E. B. Drake, of American Powder 
Mills; A. H. Fox, of A. II. Fox Gun Co.; F. W. Olin 
and A. J. Norcom, of the Western Cartridge Co.; G. S. 
Lewis, of J. Stevens Arms and Tool Co.; John R. 
Turner and Elmer E. Shaner. 
The chairman thereupon declared that the above-named 
persons were duly elected directors of the Association. 
Upon motion, duly made and seconded, the Secretary 
was directed to file with the records of the Association 
for the purpose of reference the following papers: 
(1) List of stockholders entitled to vote at this meeting. 
' (2) Proxies presented at the meeting. 
(3) Notice of meeting and proof of mailing thereof. 
(4) Inspectors’ oath and report. 
(5) Secretary-Treasurer’s financial report of assessment 
fund. , 
(6) Secretary-Treasurer’s financial report of registered 
tournament fund. 
(7) Secretary-Treasurer’s annual report. 
Upon motion, duly made and seconded, a meeting of 
the new Board of Directors for the election of officers, 
etc., was directed to be held immediately after the 
close of the stockholders’ meeting. 
No further business coming before the meeting, upon 
motion, duly made and seconded, the same adjourned. 
THE DIRECTORS’ MEETING. 
A meeting of the Board of Directors was held imme¬ 
diately after the close of the stockholders’ meeting. The 
meeting was called to order with John Hunter acting as 
chairman, and Elmer E. Shaner acting as Secretary. 
The following officers were elected to serve during the 
ensuing year: President, J. T. Skelly; Vice-President, 
W. E. Keplinger; Secretary-Treasurer, Elmer E. Shaner. 
Each of the gentlemen named thanked the directors for 
the honor conferred upon them. Mr. Shaner in the 
course of his remarks, said that the strenuous life he 
has been living for the past nineteen years was beginning 
to tell upon his health, and that one year hence he would 
like to retire and hand oyer the responsibilities and cares 
of his office to another. He said that he would be 
happy to remain with the Association in an advisory 
capacity, or in the nature of a minor official, if it was 
the members’ wish that he do so, but that he did not 
care to be the active responsible head of the organization 
longer than the coming year, when he hoped to com¬ 
plete twenty years of service with the Association. 
The minutes of the Directors’ meetings, held Dec. 8-9. 
1910, were duly approved. 
Several communications were read by the secretary, 
among them being one from O. N. Ford, of Central 
City, la. _ Mr. Ford’s letter was accompanied by a peti¬ 
tion, asking for reinstatement as an amateur. By reso¬ 
lution Mr. Ford’s communication was ordered to lie 
cn the table. 
By invitation Mr. Doremus explained at length what 
the E. I. du Pont de Nemours Powder Company was 
doing, on its own responsibility, to advance interest in 
the sport of trapshooting. 
By resolution, a vote of thanks was tendered to the 
E. I. du Pont de Nemours Powder Company for the 
active interest taken by said company in the promotion 
of the sport. 
Upon motion, duly seconded, the directors’ meeting 
adjourned at 5:05 P. M., to meet the following day at 
9:30 A. M. 
The adjourned meeting of the directors was called to 
order at 10:1 C A. M., Dec. 8, with President Skelly in 
the chair. New business was at once taken up where 
left off. 
By resolution, it was unanimously decided to continue 
in 1912 the registered tournament plan of 1911, with 
practically no changes made therein. 
By resolution, it was decided to announce to the trap- 
shooters of the country that “the Association’s primary 
object in the encouragement of trapshooting is to en¬ 
courage State associations, leagues of gun clubs arid 
special organizations. Therefore, it is our present inten¬ 
tion to do all in our power to urge and foster the for¬ 
mation of State associations in each State, and we antici¬ 
pate that in 1913 or 1914 we shall probably be in a 
position to contribute more generously to State and 
similar organizations.” 
By resolution, it was decided not to contribute to any 
State, for State tournament purposes, a sum more than 
the amount the State is entitled to> as shown by its 
population. 
By resolution, it was decided to establish two double¬ 
target championship events at the Grand American Han¬ 
dicap tournament, one for amateurs only and the other 
for professionals only. 
The advisability of changing the standard distance for 
trapshooting from 16yds. to 18yds. was discussed, and 
by resolution, no change was made. The distance re¬ 
mains the same as heretofore, namely, 16yds. 
By resolution, some radical changes were made for 
computing the yearly averages of amateurs. Said changes 
will be worked out in detail, and the necessary publicity 
given them in due season. 
By resolution, it was decided that the honorary press 
members of the Association be granted the privilege of 
publishing an unofficial monthly record of the yearly 
averages, said record to be compiled by themselves. 
By resolution, it was decided that in 1912 the Grand 
American Handicap tournament shall be given at Spring- 
field, Ill.; the Southern Handicap tournament at Colum¬ 
bus, Ga.; Ihe Eastern Handicap tournament at Bradford, 
Pa.; the Western Handicap tournament at Kansas City, 
Mo., and the Pacific Coast Handicap tournament at 
Portland, Ore. The place for holding the Post-Season 
tournament will be decided upon by May 1. 
The directors appointed the following committees to 
serve during 1912: Tournament Committee—Paul North, 
Chairman; F. G. Drew, A. F. Hebard, T. H. Keller, T. 
T. Skelly, A. H. Durston and H. McMurchy. Gun Club 
Organization Committee—T. E. Doremus, Chairman; F. 
G. Drew and T. A. Marshall. Trophy Committee—A. F. 
Hebard. 
After discussing several matters of no particular in¬ 
terest to the general public, the meeting adjourned 
sine die, at 2:50 P. M., with all business fully covered. 
Elmer E. Shaner, Sec’y-Treas. 
Elmer E. Shaner’s Report. 
Pittsburgh, Pa., Dec. 2, 1911. 
To the President, Officers and Members of 
The Interstate Association: 
Gentlemen—I herewith submit my report of the trans¬ 
actions of the Secretary-Treasurer’s office for the year 
1911. the statistical data of which, giving operations in 
detail, will be found on separate sheets herewith inclosed. 
In presenting this report, I feel that I am handing 
you facts and figures which will be indeed most gratify¬ 
ing. That tinge of pessimism permeating my report of 
1910 has given way to a blaze of glorious optimism, 
which is, in the main, due to the change of policy 
adopted by our Association at last year’s annual meeting. 
My last annual report was presented with considerable 
reluctance, but I am hampered with no such feeling on 
this occasion. On the contrary, I am eager to present 
the review, giving as it does material that is a source 
of keen gratification to me, and which will, I am sure, 
arouse our members by its high tide status. 
OUR CHANGE OF POLICY. 
Like every radical move made by the Association in its 
two decades of existence, doubt was cast upon our 
change of policy, which was considered by many per¬ 
sons to be the greatest innovation in the history of 
trapshooting. It is worthy of note, to say right her-e, 
that among the many original departures made by the 
Interstate Association, with a view to the betterment of 
trapshooting, none have reached such a pinnacle of 
success as that introduced this year. If the statistical 
data heretofore spoken of is carefully studied, I am 
quite sure that no member will have cause to find the 
slightest fault with the change made. Supported as the 
new plan is by the superb array of figures, which are a 
matter of record in my office, all question as to its 
successful working will be emphatically dispelled. I am 
on record as saying that if our new departure proved 
unsatisfactory, I would be one of the very first to admit 
its failure. I always have had, and still have, the cour¬ 
age of my convictions, and I now unhesitatingly say that 
the plan adopted at last year’s annual meeting has, un¬ 
qualifiedly, exceeded my fondest expectations. 
REGISTERED TOURNAMENTS. 
Under the plan in vogue this year the number of 
registered tournaments was reduced more than one-half 
from that of previous seasons, but our records show 
that the average number of entrants per tournament was 
more than double that of 1909 and 1910. This fully offset 
the reduced number of tournaments, and goes to indi¬ 
cate that the idea was distinctly in the line of advance¬ 
ment. This smaller number, of tournaments given 
worked to the advantage of the struggling amateur, as it 
enabled him to attend tournaments with a reasonable 
guarantee that the entry list would be thoroughly rep¬ 
resentative. The reduction in the number of tournaments 
was undoubtedly a step in the right direction, as those in 
touch with the situation were fully aware that unlimited 
registration worked a decided hardship to the deserving 
amateur. He could not resist the temptation to attend 
every tournament in his vicinity, no matter how small 
the attendance promised to be. The corresponding 
financial drain was more than he was prepared to 
undergo, with the result that many amateurs slackened 
in their devotion to the pastime. The reduction in the 
number of tournaments also worked to the benefit of 
the members of our organization. For instance, it was 
made possible for their representatives to meet the same 
number of amateurs at registerd tournaments as in 
former years, at one-half the expense. Not only was 
monetary saving a factor in these premises, but the 
matter of time gained contributed to the general effi¬ 
ciency of the plan. Trade’ representatives, by securing 
additional hours for visiting, had an opportunity to 
advance the good cause of trapshooting by attending club 
shoots, and working up interest in sportsmen’s organiza¬ 
tions, etc. Unlike in former years, their entire time 
was not exacted by attendance at registered tournaments. 
During the season just closing, we received a few 
applications to hold registered tournaments, which could 
not be complied with, by reason of the fact that said 
applications were not made within the time limit. There 
was a disposition on the part of some clubs to raise an 
objection to the ninety-day limit, but I can see no 
reason for making a change in this respect, unless it 
would be to increase tile time clause to 120 days. It is 
a well-known fact that the day has passed for giving 
tournaments on short notice. The most successful 
events of the year were fixtures of long standing. This 
fact of advance scheduling gave the management an 
opportunity to arrange all details and give the tourna¬ 
ments the publicity they required. My contention is 
amply supported by the views of managers of the largest 
and most successful tournaments held during 1911. Fur¬ 
ther comment is unnecessary. 
THE SOUTHERN HANDICAP. 
Our first tournament of the year, the Southern Handi¬ 
cap, was held at Charlotte, N. C„ May 9-11. Being the 
sixth anniversary of the creation of the Southern Handi¬ 
cap. it was fitting that the event should reach a high 
standard of excellence. Such it proved to be. From the 
initial to the last gun fired, sport marked each and every 
event. _ Over 120 entrants, comprising the best trap 
shots in the South, and a large delegation from the 
North, engaged in the competition. Members of the 
Charlotte Gun Club decreed that the attendance did not 
come up to their expectations, but they had cheery 
hearts, nevertheless, and worked with a will and way to 
entertain visitors that was pleasing. The tournament was 
held on the grounds of the Mecklenburg County Fair 
Association, an idea) spot. The grounds were reached by 
a ride through a delightful part of Charlotte on avenues 
flanked by grand old mansions of colonial days, ever 
reminders of eras of coach and postilion. The Char¬ 
lotte Gun Club, one of the oldest organizations in the 
South, was untiring in its endeavors. Having a coterie 
of veterans on its roster, who knew full well the ways 
and means of making trapshooters comfortable, nothing 
was lacking. The Sixth Southern Handicap has passed 
into history, but its success is engraved on imperishable 
tablets of memory. 
THE PACIFIC COAST HANDICAP. 
The Pacific Coast Handicap was held at Madera, Cal., 
May 25-27, under the auspices of the Madera Rod and 
Gun Club. At one time in the early months of this year, 
the question of holding a Pacific Coast Handicap was 
more or less set aside. However, there came an urgent 
business-like application from that portion of the country 
for a continuance of the event. An impression pre¬ 
vailed on the West Coast that our organization was en¬ 
tirely eastern in its workings. To disabuse minds of 
such a feeling, and at the same time commend the en¬ 
thusiasm and enterprise of the West Coast sportsmen, 
the Pacific Coast Handicap was added to the Associa¬ 
tion’s yearly roster. The wisdom of such a move was 
apparent on the first day of the tournament. Beautiful 
Madera, the gem of the San Joaquin Valley, was cer¬ 
tainly deserving of success. Its trapshooters were ardent 
entrants. Backed by the experience of one or two pre¬ 
vious gatherings, they were enabled to conduct the tour¬ 
nament without a hitch. Their appointments were the 
equal of any locality where trapshooting has been a 
popular recreation for years. Not only were the men of 
Madera untiring in their efforts to make the visitors 
comfortable, hut the women also did their share. A 
splendid lunch was furnished each day by fair hands, 
comprising workers from several churches in the city. 
All in all, the results must redound to the benefit of the 
members of the Interstate Association. 
THE GRAND AMERICAN HANDICAP. 
The twelfth Grand American Handicap was held June 
20-23, inclusive, at Columbus, O., on the grounds of the 
Columbus Gtin Club. Each year of late I have cudgeled 
my brain on the eve of appearing before you, in a de¬ 
sire to uncover some original adjective descriptive of the 
world’s premier trapshooting tournament—the Grand 
American Handicap. But why should I exercise my 
thoughts in this direction? The Grand American Handi¬ 
cap needs no eulogy. It stands in a class by itself. Trap¬ 
shooters use it as a gauge for massiveness. Every man 
who handles a shotgun at the traps looks forward to 
the pleasure of attending the Grand American Handicap 
some day. Established emphatically at its very incep¬ 
tion, it goes on forever, peerless and without any chance 
of ever being dethroned as the monarch of trapshooting 
tournaments. Columbus once before enjoyed the honor 
of conducting the Grand American Handicap, and its 
selection this year as the place for the tournament calls 
for no special comment. Three years ago the Ohio 
capital gave ample demonstration of its ability to handle 
the big event. The experience was pleasing to our 
Association and fully warranted the location of the 
fixture there this year. The entry list was in line with 
former years, the scores made were excellent, and when 
compiling a history of the Grand American Handicaps, 
the event of 1911 will force the historian to give it more 
than a passing glance. 
THE EASTERN HANDICAP. 
The Eastern Handicap was held at Wilmington, Del., 
July 11-13, under the auspices of the Du Pont Gun Club. 
Now, for a record-breaker. The Eastern Handicap 
proved to be a top-notcher, and created a high mark 
that will test the skill of any club to pull it down. The 
attendance was large, reaching the 200 mark in the main 
event, and the scores made were exceptionally good. 
The club house, equipment and general arrangements of 
the Du Pont Gun Club were the best I have ever en¬ 
countered in my many years of experience. Each day 
after shooting hours, all entrants were in the hands of 
friends, who certainly had modern ideas as to entertain¬ 
ment. Just a few incidents will show the scope of their 
work. The first evening was devoted to an auto ride 
to the numerous points of historical interest around 
