Dr. Forrest C. Allen Page 2. March 12, 1940

Some time later, in response to that letter, Saint wrote that John Bunn
and Salmon would not be on the committee another year, and that while he
was for you and always had been, he doubted the advisability of establish-
ing the precedent of electing an active basketball coach to the position
of chairman of the committee, He suggested at that time that St. Clair
would make a good chairman, and then wrote what I took to be a
complimentary paragraph in which he said that so far as he was concerned,
he would like to see me chairman of the committee, My response to this
letter was that St. Clair would make a good chairman, and that all I
wanted in a chairman was some one who would reply to correspondence,
would give service to basketball throughout the year, not just preside
effectively at its meetings, and concluded by saying that I thought

St. Clair might be a happy selection.

Copies of all this correspondence I sent along to Porter, because of the
fact that we, between us being the only two remaining officers, had to
handle the preliminary organization meeting in Kansas City.

Under date of March 9th, Porter wrote me as per attached COpye

Now, I would like to have you be very, very frank in this matter, as I am
sure you will. To propose my name as chairman of this group will draw the
open and active enmity of John Brown, Whether that will carry over to any
other members of the group, I cannot say. This being the case, I am
raising the general question as to whether or not it is advisable to go
forward with this suggestion of St. John's, in view of the fact that the
election of some one else to the chairmanship might suit all members of
the committee better,

Please be very frank about this, Phog, because while I am highly
appreciative of Saint's suggestion and with Porter's acceptance of it,

I wouldn't want to be chairman of the committee at any expense at all to
the service of basketball.

With personal regards and many thanks for your good advice, I am

Sincerely yours

a

 

FAR?:NcG Treasurer