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matter of record in his office, all question as to 
its successful working will be emphatically dis¬ 
pelled. Briefly, 88i trophies were well distributed 
among 626 different contestants a consummation 
to be desired; 479 different contestants won 1 
trophy, 88 won 2, 34 won 3, 11 won 4, 8 won 5, 
2 won 6 and 4 won 7, with the returns as to 
the disposition of 6 trophies not yet received. 
The change made whereby the several state 
champions were brought together at the Grand 
American Tournament to compete for The Na¬ 
tional Amateur Championship also received the 
stamp of approval from the trap shooting world. 
Thirty-five of the thirty-six states that held 
registered state tournaments previous to the G. 
A. H. had a representative present to compete 
for the honor. The contest attracted much at¬ 
tention throughout the entire season, and it was 
a feature event df the Grand American Handi¬ 
cap Tournament. 
It is gratifying to the association that it has 
won the praise for which it spared no effort 
nor expense to obtain. 'While the changes made 
are very satisfactory, there are some points 
which could be elaborated on with a view to 
bringing out every possibility of the plan. I 
suggest that it might be well to revive the mat¬ 
ter at the annual meeting for further discus¬ 
sion. 
Grand American Handicap. 
Of course the Fifteenth Annual Grand Ameri¬ 
can Handicap was the event of the season. It 
was again held on the grounds of the N. C. R. 
Gun Club of Dayton, Ohio, and its assistance 
to make the tournament perfect, I wish to spe¬ 
cially acknowledge. There was no friction any¬ 
where and the “if you don’t see what you want, 
ask for it” spirit displayed by all of those in 
command, from officers to privates of all grades, 
gave complete satisfaction to visitors, patrons 
and shooters and all others who could appreciate 
courtesy, perfect appointments and an undeviat¬ 
ing disposition to contribute to the complete har¬ 
mony of the event. 
The tournament excited more interest than any 
previous event of the kind. The extraordinary 
success of 1913 led many to suppose that the 
maximum had been reached beyond paradventure, 
and the great public interest partook somewhat 
of a speculative nature. Not until the entries 
had been closed could some people, and many 
thousands there were, believe that the representa¬ 
tion would exceed that of last year. It is true 
there were sanguine people who believed that 
the entries might reach 700, but they were in a 
minority. Well posted people who had had a 
broad basis for a working hypothesis contended 
that 450 would be an extravagant estimate. They 
reasoned on the basis of the professionals not 
being allowed to compete and did not make ade¬ 
quate allowance for the enthusiasm engendered 
by the previous work of the association. At this 
distance of time it is safe to say that the great 
majority were agreeably disappointed. Though 
the world has been well advised of the fact that 
the total number of entries was 515 amateurs, it 
will bear repetition here. This was 14 greater 
than the total of 1913 when 71 professional en¬ 
tries were included. The increase carries with 
it its own comment and shows that the associa¬ 
tion built on a firm foundation. 
For Consideration. 
In looking over the year’s work a point has 
come to my observation which I think should be 
considered when the outline for 1915 is under 
discussion. I refer to the filing of applications 
for registered tournaments which carry requests 
for contributions. This year we were obligated 
for the entire amount of our registered tourna¬ 
ment fund by March 15th, and many applica¬ 
tions were received after that date from deserving 
clubs to which we could not make contributions 
for the reason that our fund had been exhausted. 
This state of affairs created more or less ill 
feeling among the clubs that were too late in 
applying. They did not seem to understand that 
our fund was limited to $20,000 and that it could 
not last very long with the flood of applications 
we received shortly after the new blanks had 
been put into the mails. A time limit for filing 
applications and no applications passed upon be¬ 
fore the time limit has expired, would obviate 
this to a great extent, as clubs would then under¬ 
stand that unless their applications are filed on 
or before a specified date they could not be con¬ 
sidered. 
In my opinion, a step of this kind would be 
for the best interests of all concerned, as our 
committee which passes upon applications would 
be given an opportunity to handle them more 
intelligently, and the tournaments could be dis¬ 
tributed to better advantage. I think, however, 
that, as all state associations are provided for 
alike in respect to contributions, no time limit 
should apply to the filing of applications for 
state tournaments. 
My views in this respect will perhaps not meet 
with general favor, but I feel that it is my duty 
to express my honest opinion of the situation. 
The Grand American Handicap of 1915. 
The Grand American Handicap is the premier 
event of the year and the greatest care should be 
exercised in passing upon everything connected 
with it. The place to be selected for holding it 
in 1915 should be carefully considered. A gen¬ 
eral discussion may be of vital importance. At 
the. same time the very best of everything should 
be provided. On this much of our past success 
has hinged. 
Looking Forward. 
The wonderful progress made during the past 
year will be hard to surpass, yet it should be 
our aim to excel that record during the coming 
year. There is a great and increasing demand 
for our aid and this demand should be complied 
with to the extent of our ability to do so, there¬ 
fore, I would again, at the risk of being con¬ 
sidered tiresome, call attention to the fact that 
we ought to have more subscribers, or increase 
our assessments. The work is vast and cannot 
be prosecuted successfully without an outlay that 
in the infancy of the association would have been 
considered both outside and inside the ranks, 
ruinous, but with the enlarged views that ac¬ 
company such success is no longer considered 
terrifying. The constantly increasing demand 
for our aid must be honored and it costs money. 
For the good of the cause every membe'r should 
exert himself to the utmost to increase our sub¬ 
scription list. 
Conclusion. 
I deem it but just to again repeat what I have 
so frequently said regarding the obligations our 
association rests under to our honorary press 
members for the , assistance they have given us 
in keeping alive the interest so necessary for our 
continued prosperity. They have not been spar¬ 
ing of space or effort in publishing everything 
of interest to our members. 
ELMER E. SHANER, Manager. 
15TH GRAND AMERICAN HANDICAP 
GROUP PHOTOGRAPHS. 
To all concerned: 
We were greatly surprised and provoked to 
learn that several shooters and visitors who at¬ 
tended the above tournament had never received 
photos which they had paid Messrs. John A. 
Coles and C. Zimmerman, in advance, for on 
September 10th or nth. 
Those individual photographers had been given 
the free privilege (by us) of taking a photo of 
the large group which we got together G. A. H. 
Day, Thursday, September 10th, and selling to 
all who wished to buy them. We felt sure, in 
granting this concession, that they would carry 
out their part promptly and in a business-like 
manner. 
Neither the N. C. R. Company nor our gun 
club had anything to do with selling or finishing 
those photos, nor did we share in any profit from 
their sale. 
On receipt of the first complaints I looked up 
those photographers to find out why they had 
failed to fill all the orders which they had re¬ 
ceived. They were in partnership at Columbus, 
Ohio, before and during the 15th G. A. H., but 
bad dissolved the firm shortly after. They then 
