By Fred Nonnemacher
United States Leader In Soccer
From St. Louis comes the raving of Thomas W. Cahill, secretary of the U. S. Football Association and founder of soccer in the United States, in which he intimates that England, the cradle of soccer football, has been outstripped by American in this sport. While the sport certainly has grown in leaps and bounds and at present is extensively played, still Mr. Cahill is probably exaggerating a bit when he robs England of the honors, both in point of playing merit and certainly from the angle of attendance. That there is a purpose in this statement, which virtually is a challenge to a picked British eleven, is conveyed in his suggestion that all-star elevens of both countries meet either in the United States or abroad to decide the championship and settle the question of soccer supremacy between the two countries. Cahill says:
"I believe that I could pick a team of American-born players that could defeat any all-British team today. When the Third Lanark team came to the United States last year for a tour of the country it was made up of picked internationalists. Yet one of our teams in the East, not a champion, played the team to a standstill. I made the suggestion to the Lanark manager that we could bet England and then I made him this offer: To pick an all-American tam to play a picked British team. He has not accepted the proposition. They have stood still in England or gone back. The Untied States is still inferior in finesse, as Britons are past masters of trapping and controlling the ball. But a game of "ten second" men breaks up this combination. In American the game is played in high for the entire contest, whereas in England they want to relax. In goal shooting speed and aggressiveness and other factors, American is equal to or better than the old country."