New-York tribune., 1876-09-04
INTERNA TTONAL RACING.


thus far been both significant and interesting.
There have, however, been some matters to
be regretted. The pcttifoggng" connected
with what is known as the Amateur Re
"gatta," VIII creby men at the last moment
before a race were brought TO trial without
due notice before tribunal of "Amatours'
intr,lste with judicial powers, 10y which one
formidable oarsman was DISTINGUISHED IN in
decent haste and thrown out az professional
because he once sold some fish, and another
elected because some one alleged that he once
sold some fish, while whole crews which ad-
mitted receiving regular stipends from their
clubs under pretext of living aud training ex-
penses were suffered to remain. All this
throws deserved discredit upon so-called
Amateur" Craftsmanship.
The action of the London Clubs representa-
tives in Withdrawing from the races must also
be regretted II is true that the London crew
were somewhat unfortunate in the drawing OF
their heats On Monday, the first day OF the
regatta. they were matched against the North
Western crew, whom they defeated only after
hard contest. On Tuesday they defeated
Yale by a hairs breadth after the most severe
struggle ever known in this country, and on
Wednesday, exhausted by these victories, they
were called on to meet the Beaverwyck crew,
who came comparatively fresh from easy bat
ties on tho two preceding days. But the
fairness Of the drawing of heats was
unquestioned and unquestonabe, and
the successive grounds of complaint raised by
the London crew in support of their with
drawal were fiimsy and untenable, and in max
ing their charge of unfair arbitration against
the referee when all else failed, they followed
a custom which, though not uncommon to this
country, should be stamped as disreputablc by
all fair men, since even courts OF law hold
that the decision of an arbitrator il final, and
from it there is no appeal. The racing was
fair. The Londoners' defeat was the fortune
of war, and they should have borno it as the
Yale men bore their i'll fortune, in a gentle
manly spirit.
Owing TO the unfortunate break k-down of the
Cambridge men and the non-appearance of
any American graduate crew, the series afforded
no conclusive test of the relative merits of
British and American oarsmen except the single
heat between Yale and the London Club on
Tuesday. better English crew and better
American crew could possibly be found, but
each nation was represented by the best crew
at hand. The London men have been over
this milc-and half course in time n quarter
of minute quicker than the best speed of
Cambridge and three-quarters of a minute
quicker than the Dublin crew. Yale
has been over it third of a minute
quicker than the Atalantas, who won the ANA
teur prize, Gve-sixths of minute ahead of
the Argonauta's best time and almost quar-
ter of a minute faster than the time of the
Beaverwycks, who won the international
prize. And yet Mt the finish Of the heat of
Tuesday, after tremendous struggle, Yale
was but single second behind London.
This was q conclusive test. No American
crew ever before made such showing as this
against an English one, and this contest, taken
together with the honorable victory of the
Bcaverwycks in the final heat, will be sufficient
to raise American rowing to higher position
than it has ever occupied in English eyes.
And the best Oarsmen of England will hardly
again decline to come because there is no
honor to be gained by defeating American
creys