The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1920. GAMES AND THE MAN.

Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 292, 7 December 1920, Page 4

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1920. GAMES AND THE MAN.

For the eeuse that lacks assistance. For the wrong that need* resistance, For th« future in the distance, And the good tltat ice oa*% do.

Those who take an exclusively serious view of life had I'ettcr resign themselves to the inevitability of games absorbing a large share of the public interest this summer. We cay nothing about racing, which is a sport rather than a same, and is always with us. We are thinking of thr test match series in Australia and the Davis Cup contest here. These are going to be diecuseed frequently and at length, and by no means always by people who think of nothing else. The man who takes no interest in, game* lacks something important in his composition. Andrew Lang, himself an admirable example of the all-round man, rightly objected to Stalky and hie companions, because they took little interest in school games. If they had taken more they might have been less offensive. The man of wide interests and sympathies will follow the controversy about Spiritualism, have an opinion about the Irish question, keep an eye on the development of the League of Nations, have something intelligent to say about domestic politics, and keep room for the fate of the "ashis" and the Davis Uup. The fate of the tennis trophy should have a great intereet for him, and, indeed, for every man who cares for games. This is the second time within ten years that New Zealand, which tho honest New Zealander must admit is a small, remote, and comparatively insignificant countrj-, has been privileged to have played on its soil the greatest event in the lawn tennis world. Indeed, the Davis Cup is more than this; of all sporting events it makes tho widest appeal. Of all the games tiiat we British have <»' vcr, to the world, lawn tennis is most popular in foreign countries. Interest in the result of the tost matches will be confined to the British Empire, but news of the Davis Cup contests will be awaited from New York to Sa|i Francisco and in Paris, Madrid, and Tokyo.

The arrival of the Australasian and American teams is a reminder both of the extraordinary development of skill in the gume and its diffusion through the world. There has been nothing like either of these things in the history of games. When lawn tennis first carao into fashion the real tennis players despised it and called it "pat-ball," but now, as an English writer said the other day, lawn tennis as played by first-rate players "'is a hurricane of speed and violence, and anyone who despises it is a fool." It has every element of popularity. It i s easy to play and delightful to watch. It calle for speed, endurance, skill, brains, and character. It has acquired the hig-hest traditions of sportsmanship, and in its freedom from the gambling evil ie one of the cleanest of games. Where in one important respect it can never equal cricket and football Is in the fact that it ie not a team game. But this very difference favours its extension throughout the world and makes international meetings easier to arrange. Tennis bids fair to be the great international game of the future, and one may include among its benefite the effect it will have (we hope we may BafeU- say "will") in breaking down prejudices between nations, diffusing knowledge, and promoting friendship. The activity in the tennis world to-day Is part of a great revival of interest in games since the war. Weary of war, man has turned with increased zest to outdoor sport for relief and recreation. This ie not the place to discuss the question of over-indulgence in games to the neglect of higher things; our purpose here ie rather to bring out the benefits of play. The Empire may have suffered greatly through such one-sided development, but on the other hand it found its sporting spirit and genius for games of immense value in the greatest struggle of its history. It now has the satisfaction of seeing that other countries are disposed to pey more rather than less attention to games. The history of Germany is an abiding object-lesson in the dangers of thinking too much and playing too little. We welcome our visitors not only for their prowess and for their origins, but because they represent what is best in a. great game and all that that best means.