The New York herald., 1874-07-16

the assurance OF the Rowing ssociauon doubly
Yourself and even TO nv redoubtaOle Hartford
brother that Saratoga Is not yet quite ripe ior Inc
ate OF the Cities OF the Plan."
The following extract from the columns OF the
Springfield Republican OF the race day last year.
July IT, will show the shape and grounds Of tho
opposition as made by paper of place with
rival course. its spirit and motives can readily
De observed as one reads L. IQuoee II. inoecens
nnuendoes ana all, about the most condenseo
and vigorous summing up OF the opposiuon %
having this contest here.to-day:-
SARATOGA on sPRIN0PrRLD
1t Is fact within the KNOWLEDGE Of many OF our
Is viii undoubtedly be news TO
nore-that q strong push was made 70 capture the
regatta this year and carry It into disgrsceiu cap
@ Students 70 uDSsrs,and snas he stood ready 70
assume all the expenses, to provide prizes. 90,
1 they would leave that Puritanicai Springfield ia
the lurch and coms to the Springs. II was terri
sne these reas ss
2 very serious matter. But Is was resisted. The
boys were proof mr Morrissey M was ciyily WI given
He is not the man to be discouraged by q single
rebuG. however, aud It rs already evident that an
other and more determined attempt is to be made
upon the undergraduate virtue. The man bust
ness OF a number OF the visiting newspaper cor
respondents, metropolitan and other, now In
Springfield. is to write Gown the Connections
River course and the city In the Saratoga interest
1Ssy nsy ,vs are aSng M M aoor
or are working gratuitously we can't sav That ID
q matter between them and their employers. We
may add that the innKeepers OF Saratoga are very
nearly quite as earnest In this business as their
distinguished townsman. The regatta would mean
It would add o good iortnighs or three weeks to
1.-The season." rney could well anord to 20 snackD
IN Mr.. Morrlssey's bribe; 1t would be shrew0
business investment-sure to pay. and pay hand.
somely.
But we fancy that Mr.. Morrssey and the Sara
tOga BOnlfaces are doomed to dtsappOintmenty
that 1t s rather pronounced case OF sour grapes.
There are lew things thank God, still lett In this
regatta to be OF the number. At the last meeting
OF their assoclsMon tae yo1ng Fellows its presens
Srasse tho to the sve Of the
ordinary sporting event' II they could help iys
that they would do all in their power to save u
designed to be-a friendly contest among gentle-
mon for honor and not for money. They have
10 sa ys' sS on
lers was met rather coldiy and inharmon1ously at
first by our local and State authorities the pracu-
DAY was an earnest that they were not
to be left alone in the effort to keep the sport
thar that effort Is seconded and supplemented bI
Q controlling public sentiment, sentiment pow.
and 20 % ss
o more congenfal climate. It Is the same puDlio
sentiment that has enabled Springfield to keep IT,
any other in the country. The people OF Spring.
field are with tue undergraduates in this thing
TO remove the regatta from this New England
river and this New England community will be to
~ 70 az 40 Se hose ~ Us' on yo
be to cut It's throat outright. There would be no
that transaction. College
Would ali see it in one light. We shal not Seieve
In the possibility Of such folly-to call It BY nd
harsher name-untu we see 1t committed.
The Springfield Course,
made familiar to all by the great race there last
summer, commenced where the Connecticut mar.
rows below the city, as shown at the point
x in the diagram, to 800 or 900 feet 0nd
stretches away three miles down stream. widen
ing gradually. 1t too, like tho Others lies north
and SOUTH but, unlike them, has some currenA
Unfortunately the race OF last year fell at q time
when the good people OF Springfield claim that the
water was unusually low, lower than 1t mad been
for many seasons. However this may be, there
certainly were long shadows here and there over
the course in some places the water being scarcely
foot and half deep. The crew that had for hall
q mile or more rs had Cornell, to pull such .
course with their oars almost or altogether touch
ing the bottom, might well complain that beside
those in mid-channeL feeble though the current
was they could do themselves no justice. 1t 10
pretty hard to get yourself ready for whole year
together for struggle with your fellows, and alter
practising long self DENIAL bodily labor severer
and more protracted than you ever knew before
and sacrificing much time and not Q little money.
to find your efforts worse than thrown away By
your being in the hour Of trial pushed over on toa
part OF the track unit for you or any one else 70
contend on equal terms with your antagonist 10
is more than likely II such hazards were to be run
by you again tDat you would have nothing to do
with the race And yet IN addition to this formid-
able objection to the Springfield course, there u
another even worse one not htful or the conse.
quence Of any years caprice, but one inherent
In the course itself and which cannot well be re-
moved. 1t Is nothing more nor less than that tho
river here is crooked, so that for ton or dozen
boats to row from given starting line and YET
Dor and still row q race absolutely fair Is, saving
on one condition, impossible. That condition ID
one tnat s extremely dimcoit, indeed I'm
boats row in lanes. As 1t was last year, the start
Ing line was drawn across the river 1t right
angles with It's course. TO draw the other three
miles away around the bend or the river at right
angles there with Its course would be glaringly
fairness to all, and without lnquring how well Il
succeeded 1t is enough to say That IL was possible
finish line and do actually less than three miles,
whlle another, seeming yet to steer well might
really do more than three. But IN these days,
when boats and oars and even men have improved
SO over those OF past years, and races are won BY
sections and fractions OF second instead OF
minutes, a current, however slight, or bend In
the course. keenly elt and should, II possible,
be avoided Tie wind will blow anywhere, and Il
it can touch water will rufle II and so hazard
somewhat the conditions OF O race; but crooked
streams and currents can De avoided and IN Q
connict where so much is staked as here surely
ought to be.
The good name OF the Springfield course suffered
also much last year from the wretcned mlsmanage-
ment OF the races themselves The city had .
committee and SO had the students and as each
relied on the other, nothing as usual was done 0y
either. The referees boat ran short Of good coal
Just when she wac most needed, and he had 70
accept the hOspitahues OF the HERALD steam
yacht; no one knew definitely where lay the finish
line, two OF the boats instead OF being placed at
least 100 feet apart at the start were only AZ
the Freshman crews were TO start at three
and did not get OF until two hours later; the
University likewise; there was no system ab0us
getting the boats into line, but they came dragging
along down one after another, dong each other no
good. There were eleven judges at the 1nisn
wnere four would have been q multitude, and
two, or even one, enough; 1t was nearly dusk when
the great event of the day came on; no one
could tell who won; the uniforms OF
the crews were not suficiently varied, so shas
they might be swiftly singled out, and the results