A Plea for the Amateur Standard. 
Jamestown, N. Y., Nov. 25. —Editor Forest 
and Stream: I have read with much interest 
the arguments of your correspondents, Messrs. 
Darling, Mapes and Harris, for the admission 
of so-called professionals into the contests of 
the National Association of Scientific Angling 
Clubs. I do not enjoy the distinction of being 
a scientific angler, but as a lifelong lover of 
all good sports, I cannot refrain from enter¬ 
ing a plea for the maintenance of the amateur 
standard in them. 
It is true in a great measure that we Amer¬ 
icans have become a nation of shop-keepers, 
but this fact, to the democratic mind, should 
carry no stigma so long as our pastimes, and 
particularly our sports, are kept free from the 
taint of commercialism. It is bad enough that 
our green fields must be marred with un¬ 
sightly signboards; our rocks, fences and 
buildings daubed with hideous emblems of 
trade—we can only heave a sigh and condone 
these things as evidences of Yankee enter¬ 
prise; but before carrying the trade-mark and 
the dollar mark into our amateur sports is it 
not time to call a halt? 
Careful thinkers on the subject have re¬ 
peatedly alleged that there is and can be no 
common ground in sport upon which the ama¬ 
teur and the professional can meet—the ques¬ 
tion is simply, What shall constitute an ama¬ 
teur? To my mind the N. A. S. A. C. answers 
it splendidly, as did the National Association 
of Amateur Oarsmen long ago. Would any 
one contend that a crew made up of oar- 
makers, shell builders and paid coaches should 
have place in an amateur rowing contest? 
Perish the thought--- and why should not the 
same standard be applied to all sports? 
When we read of some gunner’s marvelous 
record we are often moved to admiration, 
until a glaring advertisement discloses the fact 
that the feat was performed in the interest of 
a gun or ammunition maker, and when we dis¬ 
cover that the shooter is a sportsman for 
revenue only, we relegate him to the class 
where he belongs, with the commercial pro¬ 
fessionals, whose feats do not particularly in¬ 
terest us. 
This is not necessarily a disparagement; it 
is simply a distinction between business and 
pleasure; a distinction that is not only a proper 
one, but absolutely vital to the purity of our 
sports, and one that has always prevailed since 
the days of the Olympic games, when the 
Agonistse were classed by themselves as 
athletes for recreation only. 
The amateur standard may seem hard on 
the manufacturer, the dealer and their em¬ 
ployes—perhaps it is—but it is the irony of 
fate and the tradesman who loves sport for 
sport’s sake must needs enter the lists in some 
field where his motives cannot be questioned, 
or else train openly with professionals. 
To prove disinterestedness, let the rod- 
maker take to rowing, the oar-maker to skit¬ 
tles, and the ammunition-maker to jousting or 
battledore, but give the amateur, who has 
nothing to gain but glory, a field to himself. 
Let me not be misunderstood as inveighing 
against the dignity of trade. All hail to the 
tradesman and his calling, if they be honor¬ 
able; the butcher, the baker and the candle¬ 
stick maker are as essential to our happiness 
as are the banker and the professional man. 
But it is not necessary for the butcher to carry 
his cleaver to the dance, nor for the baker to 
knead his bread in the meeting house. Let us 
keep shop in the shop, and if the butcher in¬ 
sists upon carrying his tools, let us send him 
to the barbecue instead of the ball. 
W. A. Bradshaw. 
[In order that the question first raised by 
Mr. Darling may be understood, it may be 
Said that both amateurs and professionals are- 
GOT A BITE. 
From a Seymour Print in the Woodward Collection. 
interested in the proposed plan to so classify 
contestants that everyone, be he awkward or 
skillful, will be placed in his proper grade. If 
he works upward, he may in time become an 
expert; if not, he remains at the bottom of 
the ladder. All depends on his own skill and 
enthusiasm. 
One reason why it was decided to close 
contests to representatives of tackle houses 
is that the novice had no hope of equaling 
the work of men whose business it was to win. 
To compete against them was discouraging. 
In one sense the man of means and leisure is 
also an obstacle in the path of the novice. If 
success is attainable through practice and the 
purchase of the best of everything, the former 
enjoys it. The result is that in amateur con¬ 
tests which are not restricted, only the ex¬ 
perts enter. 
The proposition to establish classes is in¬ 
tended to encourage beginners. In fly-casting, 
all-comers may be classed on their best pre¬ 
vious performances, at say 60, 85, 100 and over 
100 feefe. The 6o-foot man will try as hard to 
get ilftb the 85-foot class, and on up, as the 
experts will try to maintain their place at the 
very top. The same thing applies to other styles 
of tournament casting. 
This brings matters to the point where the 
novice has been taken care of and the profes¬ 
sional is to be considered. When an amateur 
becomes so skillful that he need not fear the 
professional, with his reputed better outfit, 
then the amateur will meet all comers on a 
ground on which sheer skill and merit alone 
are supposed to win. 
This proposition was discussed at the meet¬ 
ing of the executive committee of the National 
Association of Scientific Angling Clubs in 
Chicago last August, but no action was taken. 
It is advocated by several clubs as a means of 
encouraging novices and at the same time per¬ 
mitting men connected with the trade to take 
part in open contests. 
The National Association arranges for no 
contests for professionals. Even if it seems 
best to abide by this ruling, there still remains 
the question of the grading of contestants in 
various styles of casting, and it must be so 
settled that the beginner may be encouraged 
to compete, else the sport will not survive. 
How can this best be done?.— Editor.] 
Illinois Bail-Casting Club. 
Chicago, Ill., Dec. 2. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: The general averages of the season 
are as stated below, completed scores only being 
given. The degree buttons will be ready for 
presentation at the annual meeting in January. 
BAIT EVENTS. 
L. 
w. 
J. 
A. 
I. 
E. 
A. 
O. 
J. 
F. 
E. 
H. 
W. 
w 
c. 
A. 
H. 
M. 
D. 
E. 
k 
Ja 
Ra 
E. 
J. 
] 
Matthews. 
Wagner . 
C. Wehle.... 
P. Mohan..... 
W. Hemming! 
A. Humphrey 
R. Winfield.. 
O. Van Tree 
W McFarlin 
j?. Clifford... 
G. Berg. 
E. Rice. 
^i-ounce. 
i/4-ounce. 
General 
Bait. 
Bait. 
Average. 
Degree. 
..98.186 
98.171 
98.179 
Master 
..98.229 
97.886 
98.057 
Master 
..97.914 
98.071 
97.993 
Expert 
..98.4 
97.571 
97.986 
Expert 
..98.043 
97.786 
97.915 
Expert 
..97.743 
97.743 
97.743 
Expert 
..97.6 
97.871 
97.736 
Expert 
...97.629 
97.828 
97.73 
Expert 
...97.371 
97.6 
97.486 
Expert 
...96.857 
97.814 
97.336 
Expert 
ls.97.186 
97.371 
97.278 
Expert 
...96.771 
97.143 
96.957 
Amateur 
...97.186 
96.629 
96.907 
Amateur 
...96.186 
97.114 
96.65 
Amateur 
...96.357 
96.557 
96.457 
Amateur 
...94.571 
97.243 
95.907 
Amateur 
...95.514 
96.029 
95.77 
Amateur 
...96.771 
94.514 
95.643 
Amateur 
FLY EVENTS. 
Accuracy Dry Fly General 
Fly. Accuracy. Average. Degree. 
L. E. De Garmo.98 22-60 9814 98 37-120 Expert 
W. J. Jamison.97 34-60 97V 2 97 64-120 Expert 
ctmi-pat avfp AnF-TVrftTAl'JCF. RATT. HALF-OUNCE. 
A. D. Whitby. 
E. H. Matthews. 
W. T. Jamison. 
W. W. McFarlin.96.357 96.557 96.457 
J. M. Ranney. 
A. G. Borg... 
L. E. De Garmo..'. 
H. E. Rice. 
J. E. Amann. 
Feet. 
160 1-2 
146 1-4 
.145 3-10 
Amateur 
133 7-10 
118 
117 9-20 
108 11-20 
92 19-20 
HIGH SCORE AWARDS. 
Accuracy Bait.L. E. De Garmo. 
Fly Events.L. E. De Garmo. 
Distance Bait.A. D. Whitby. 
H. E. Rice, 
gs.i™ 
97 37-120 
106V 2 
Sec’y. 
