The Wedge in Football.

Walter Camp in the last number of Harper's Weekly speaks strongly in favor of keeping the wedge in football. He argues in substance as follows:

"At this time, when it seems to be the fad of every one who talks, writes, or plays football, to reiterate the statement that legislation must in some way demolish the wedge, it seems only fair that the other side of the question should be heard, and, particularly, that any legislation should be neither hasty nor ill-considered. I am one of those quite ready to admit that the further development of wedge and mass plays would be detrimental to the interests of both players and spectators. A suggestion has been made that the wedge be permitted only inside the twenty-five-yard lines, or only outside the twenty-five-yard lines, thus limiting the use of it, and making the play more open.

But the objection to the rule limiting the use of the wedge is the difficulty of laying down a definition which shall cover the "wedge" and "wedge plays" without leaving a loop-hole for evading the rule. The rule we should provide would combine with the present five yards and three downs rule and stipulate that in perhaps two downs or fairs, if the ball be not advanced ten yards, it must traverse a space of twenty yards across the field either in the hands of a player or not. The above rule would probably insure the more frequent interchange of the ball, a desired feature of our present game.

Then again it would probably stimulate kicking, and especially long passes toward the ends as well as end running. The wedge play is not all brute force. The large college teams showed them as models of skill and clever head work. The wedge should stay in football, but a provision of some kind should insure a necessity of other play during a contest. It ought to be a possible play, but not all the play, and legislation which will induce the captain for the interest of his team to use other plays as well, is the legislation that will be productive of the best results in the end."