Communications

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

Before deciding on a definite plan for the selection of assistant managers for University teams, one question must be settled--should an assistant manager be chosen on the basis of competition? As every man in a class should have an equal chance to prove his ability, and as allowing a manager to pick his successor from among his immediate friends is manifestly unfair, competition appears at once the only method to be used.

Having selected a method, the matter of rules for governing is comes up. In my opinion the competition should be in sole charge of the manager of the team in question. The amount of money collected by a candidate should be taken into consideration only as showing the candidate's ability and his desire to work. The actual choice can be made only through the manager's impression of the candidate's ability and general fitness gained by observation of his work and the results obtained. A manager is naturally influenced by the opinion of the captain and the members of the team who have any criticism to make. The decision, therefore, becomes entirely personal, and in order to obviate charges of unfairness there should be a committee to pass on the selection before the candidate's name is brought up for sanction of the Athletic Committee.

The present arrangement of having such a committee composed of all the "H" men in the sport together with the captains and managers of the four major teams has not proved a success. The meetings of this committee have been poorly attended and the individual members took little or no interest in the matter. A smaller committee composed of the captain, the manager, and three "H" men selected by the captain would be much more efficient.

Whether or not this plan is the proper one can be determined only by discussion. One thing, however, is evident and necessary. There must be uniformity in the selection of assistant managers if only to avoid the continual charges made against University managers who have run a trial and made an appointment to the best of their ability. R. H. EGGLESTON, JR., '09.