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Page:America's National Game (1911).djvu/278

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248
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME

X. In addition to all matters that may be specially referred to them by both of the Associations parties hereto, the said Board shall have sole, exclusive and final jurisdiction of all disputes and complaints arising under and all interpretations of this Agreement. They shall also, in the interests of harmony and peace, arbitrate upon and decide all differences and disputes arising between the Associations parties hereto and between a Club member of one and a Club member of the other Association party hereto. Provided that nothing in this agreement shall be construed as giving authority to said Board to alter, amend or modify any section or part of section of the Constitution of either Association party hereto.

Ex-President A. G. Mills, of the Washington Olympics, in an article on the subject of the national game, said:

"When we behold what a revolution Base Ball has wrought in the habits and tastes of the American people we may well denominate its advancement a 'good work.' But a generation ago that large body of our people whose lives were not spent in the forest or on the farm was marked as a sedentary race, with healthful recreation denied to all but a favored few. Now, not the least of our claims to distinction among the peoples of the world is our general love of and devotion to healthful outdoor sports and recreations. The deterioration of the race has ended, and the rising generation is better equipped for the duties, the conflicts and the pleasures of life than were their fathers and mothers. And can it be doubted what has been the most potent factor in achieving this beneficent revolution? We have seen Base Ball steadily growing from its notable beginning before the war, accompanying our soldiers in the field, spreading like wildfire through the West, until now it is known and loved and practiced in every city and town within the borders of the United States. Base Ball is essentially the people's game, in that it is equally accessible to the sons of the rich and poor, and in point of exhilarating exercise to the player and healthy enjoyment to the spectator—whether played on the village common or the splendidly appointed grounds of the modern professional club—it satisfies and typifies the American idea of a manly, honest, entertaining recreation."