Gray And His Game.

Temuka Leader, Issue 7569, 23 May 1914, Page 4

Gray And His Game.

STRAIN OF BILLIARDS AND NEED FOR KEEPING FIT. Only those who are billiard-players, says a London paper, can have any idea of the tremendous physical strain involved in a constant pursuit of the game. “Knocking balls about with a stick!” exclaims the man in the street. “There’s nothing in that!”—which remark shows how little he knows about it. After a short chat with George Gray —the young Australian—who was de-

feated by av even younger Englishman, T, Newman. et the Holborn Hall, London, last month and more recently still by Reece, wo are persuaded that the professional billiard-player has to keep as physically fit as the football player or the pugilist. “I am a teetotaller and non-smoker,” remarked Gray during the conversation. “I have never tried the other thing, and I don’t feel that 1 want it. The professional billiard-player has to take great care of himself, and the discipline to which he has to submit is something very different from training for a fight. That is over in a comparatively short time; but the billiardplayer has to keep fit all the yeai round.”

nobler fields of peace, in science, art and social human achievement, is “all over bar shoutin' ’’ But is it!' Tho assert- has been hailed with delight by the I'lms. But, as I know from tho German pers. it has been received with quiet scorn by the average German. I ha- « some claim to know modern Germany, and T say. without hesitation, that it is NOT true. THE TRUE TEST. -her# are no two countries in the world which understand so little of each other as Germany and England. But the German Empire knows more, far more, of 'Al'r- n than Albion knows ,ot Iter. We think of the Gormans as a slow, ponderous people, who suffer from swelled heads and sauerkraut. We believe, as a national belief, that they live mainly upon sausages. At heart, we have no doubt that wo can lick them anywhere, whether in science, literature, or sterner fields. Have we thought it nut?

Tho position of a country is decided by two factors, the first, the human ; the other, the factor of system. So far as great men are concerned, both countries can point to giants in every field of human effort—England to her Shakespearos and Turners. Germany to her Goethes, her Schillers, and her Wagners. Groat men prove nothing. Greece and Rome produced their greatest men in their decline. The general average is tho test and the only test. If we take the intellectual standard, there can be no doubt in my mind that England falls below her rival. Take the question of languages as an example. Not one Englishman in a thousand has any knowledge of other tongues than his own. In Germany, bi-linguists and tn-linguists are comparatively common. If one takes a knowledge of the world’s literature, tho average German is much bolter read than his English brother. Qn'« the other day a German said to me, "It is no wonder that wo have so mai-e statues to your Shakespeare erected throughout Germany, for lie is read V.’ thousands of the ordinary people. We regard him as much ours as yours.” How many English clerks, tradesmen, and blacksmiths will have read Goethe or Schiller, and that in the original ? EVER",- -HAN A MUSICIAN Leaving or? one side the giant composers which Goymany lias produced, such as Beethoven, JVagner, Brahms, Mozart, and to-day wdouard Strauss, upon the contention that the production of individual genius does not determine a country’s greatness, as a country, the popular standard in the musical education of England and her rival is ludicrously disproportionate. Throughout the cities of tho Fatherland, "the common people” dock to hear the finest orchestras in the world. The man sitting next to you in tho train or restaurant can discuss with you on a high level of understanding the technical as well as the human note of music. You can’t judge musical Germany from her bands I But England easily leaves her rival behind in architecture. English architecture is about ■'■be best in the world. Take Berlin, for example. It is » city of horror from tile architectural standpoint. The Germans cannot build houses. IS ENGLAND DECADENT? Coming now to the business methods of tho two countries, the long start which England got through her railways and the ear’- application of steam to commercial has enabled her so far to keep ahead. There are not a few Gormans, however, and some of them very shrewd judges, who believe that England has “shot her bolt.” England’s failure to learn foreign languages in business, to tender in foreign lengths and money, to systematise her controls, all those weaknesses are pointed to as

evidences of her decadence, and that, despite the huge increase of her natif/nal turn-over, which the German attributes to those early advantages of whieh I have spoken. 1 I believe I am correct in saying „ . j when the Trans-Si her ianltailway was i * ing tendered for throughout the world, England sent in her tenders in feet and inches, and in pounds, shillings, and pence. She scarcely secured a single order. Germany jumped in and collared millions of pounds of orders, preparing her tenders in Russian, and tendering in Russian measures and money. GERMAN BUSINESS SPIES Day and night the big German houses are working to get on terms with their English rivals, sending their young men into English firms “to spy out the land,’’ those German “spies” sparing no effort to find the joint in the harness of English business, learning the language, and obtaining a close mastery of the particular industry. But in one thing beyond all Germany stands head, shoulders, and waist above her insular friend. She recognises that a nation can only be built up, as Napoleon once said an army marched—“ upon its belly.” It is the State system of eou“■tion, physical and mental, which she is establishing throughout the German Empire, to which she looks to give her , on e day the dominance of Europe. Dunfig a recent visit to Germany, I visited such well-known cities as Cologne, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Wiesbaden, ”? nn ‘ Voblentz, and a dozen others, where I had the opportunity of seeing tho German National Health Scheme in operation. As on© of her leading officials put it to me; “It is the object of Germany to see that every child born under the German flag shall start his li under the best possible conditions physically so that upon the physical base may bo built a first-class mental training which shall enable him to hold his 011 the battlefield, in the mart, or in the arena of art and science." At Strasburg, which may be taken as an example of many other cities, they nave established free swimming, Turkish and medical baths, costing, with the dental dime, £75,000. In Nuremberg and Munich, as at Mannheim, Bremen and Uologne, and dozens of other cities, they have instituted magnificent baths lor the school children. In London, the other day, they vetoed the establishment of school batlxs. In Germany, they have now free dentistry and school clinics in scores places. They have built up a State Medical Service in the State of Saxe-Mein-mgen which is fo be the nucleus of a national service, all free. In England, the education authorities are only just awakening to the fact that you cannot put sound minds into unsound bodies. in puysical culture,and, as is universally admitted, in mental culture the German scores. Now, it is “up to” England. The extraordinary preparations now mhand in the Eatherland for the next Olympic games, and England’s absolute xailure to equip her athletes, is another topical example of German efficiency and English inefficiency. GERMANY'S WEAKNESS. ’ ‘

But even Germany is not infallible. Her weakness is that she makes a god of \ the expert.” She puts experts into all ner supervising positions experts who aro too often theorists rather than prac--leaf men. This means that her passion tor theory as opposed to practice places her at some disadvantage when it comes to ideas. I'or the school atmosphere f!’, .tho “expert,” i.e. the schoolman/ kill initiative, j’ It is to-day gradually being recognisAt throughout the Fatherland that the mo-W ment you make a man into a machine vou make him somethin gfess of a marfi In fact, as was shown at the recent Par* ■lamentary elections Tor the Reichstag. H lsstanc l'ng for the replacement it Uit< ’ human machine” by the “man”/’ cun to-day command the most votes cu my party m the German Empire. Thao marks a new era m Germany, and “give* •is furiously to think,” lor if Germany mis been able to challenge the wordl m ■trt, science and literature, as in busiic.ss within less than half a century, ■’.■■■-y nja.v she not be able to do now bat, whilst keeping the best of her magnin cent system of organisation, she is giving fuller play to the human factor? England will need to sti’ain every nerve and every muscle, to put forth her uttermost, if she is to hold her own in i ho struggle which is'fast approaching, n that struggle, human efficiency, menfactor P lySlCal, be tllG deciding