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NATIONAL FOOTBALL.
WEST AUSTRALIAN DIFFICULTY.
At the last meeting of the Victorian
Football League an amusing letter was
read from the hon. secretary of the West
Australian Football Association. There
is apparently a war between the rival
games In the western state, and hostilities
would appear to have reached an
acute stage. The letter is as follows: -
"We are making a determined fight to set
back the two foreign styles of football
Rugby and British. The latter has made
progress in the state schools, not because
it is popular with the boys, but because
of the prejudices of a number of head
masters imported from Britain some seven
or eight years ago. Their feeling towards
our national sport amounts, in some cases,
to a virulent hatred, and in a number of
schools the game is absolutely forbidden.
This has created an artificial taste, which
will take some time to displace, but we
are 'out for fight' this season, and if the
bigotry of our overseas teachers is main
tained we are going to the Ministerial
head of the Education Department. A
threat in this direction has resulted in a
saner attitude in some quarters, but a few
of the more obstinate masters are going
to the extreme length of intimidating
junior teachers who are of Australian
sentiment, and who have assisted us in our
efforts to form school teams. Here we
have a pretty situation - the national game
forbidden in the national schools. As you
remark in your letter, it is "the survival
of the fittest, so we are fighting with
confidence." The letter was received.
At Quito, the only city in the world
on the line of the equator, tile sun setl
and rises at six o'clock the year.
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