Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-05-31
CoIIcwc Rontinu.

The Harvard boat club, Gin order to correct
any wrong impressions the public may have
received" caused to be published in the Boston
Advertiser yesterday the correspondence be-
tween the clubs of Harvard and Yale relative to
the proposed race. They omit however from
the complete correspondence" their letter TO
the Yale club last winter inquiring, as a prelim-
mary to any formal notice of the challenge
already received from Yale, whether the latter
club endorsed a certain article then recently pub
lished in the College Courant relative to the
university race of last summer. This inquiry
was rather peremptory in tone, and was not
adapted either in manner or substance TO pro-
mote good feeling between the two colleges The
Yale men at any rate so regarded it, and delayed
for some time making any response. At length,
lest the race should be given up altogether, a
result which they protested to deprecate, an
answer was returned, saying in substance, five
remember rightly, that the club was not respon-
sible for the Courant, and that the article in
question was not written or prompted by any
one connected with the club. They further
urged an early acceptance or rejection of their
challenge.
The correspondence now published begins
with the challenge dated December 10th, which
is followed by letter from the Harvard club,
dated March 9th, three and half months
later, requesting Yale to send delegates to the
convention in Springfield, to arrange for union
regatta of American colleges. Other CORE
spondence followed, with the result Of convinc
ing the Yale club that the Harvard oarsmen
4 s-,Na 40 4hos,- hall nj
December 10th. They therefore announced
that the university crew had disbanded, and
that no future acceptance of the challenge
would be recognized. The Harvard club have
so far the last word in letter dated May 2Sth,
in which they claim that their meaning has
been misconstrued, that they never intended to
reject the challenge, nor to refuse TO row at any
other time or place than at the union regatta or
at Worcester, and after some suggestions as to
the manner in which the Yale men ought to
have conducted their part of the correspond
ence, they close with this liberal proposition:
"The II. Q. B. C. hereby offers to row the Y.
q. B. G. any kind of a race (straight-away' or
turning at any time and place and for any
distance that the Y. U. B. C. may name; pro-
vided the Y. U. B. C. does not insist upon
date which will conflict with Harvard's en-
gagement with the Atlanta B. c., and with the
colleges at the coming regatta"
1t has hitherto been matter of some doubt
among those who are interested in such things,
which of the colleges, if either really desired a
fair and equal contest. The above proposal
seems to make it clear that there is now at least
no reluctance on the part of Harvard.
The union regatta, which was to take the plac,
this year of the usual Harvard and Yale race
does not promise to be a great success
Amherst, it is said, will send no college crew
and the crew OF the Agricultural college are dis
posed to withdraw. The contest will be, appar
emily, between Brown and Harvard, without
other competitors. The Indifferent success Of
this movement to extend and enhance the inter-
est in college boating rivalries will be disap-
pointment to some youthful athletes, but is not
bad thing on the whole -.,,.rt--4s