Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1880-05-08
ANOTHER FAILURE.

TAlden in n. Y. Times
Hard Is the fate Of the American people; No
than something Of the most dlscouragtng ma
TIRE happens. A week ago the belief that Mr..
Courtney would really row a race In May had
become general, and now we are suddenly con-
not row at all
There is no subject Of more transcenient I'M
portance than the rowing abilities OF Mr..
papers to be convinced Of this tact When VII the
pIospecs that he will row Is a doubtful one,
the country is In a feverish and unsettled
state. People sometimes wonder why the
United States government has to pay per
cent. for money, when England can borrow all
she wants at ~ per cent. Beyond any queS-
ton, the real reason isjthe uncertainty which
capt aliStS feel as to Mr.. Courtney'S intentions.
WHAT prudent man cares to buy the bonds of a
country which is liable at any moment to be
cOnvulsed by the refusal OF Mr.. Courtney to
row match which he had promised to row.
England is not exposed to any such conJin-
gency, and therefore her consols are regarded
as safe investment. Mr.. Courtney is an ele-
possible that the bonds of his country should
be regarded as perfectly safe. For the last two
months the prospect that he would row In May
was so good that there was a general revival
of commercial prosperity, and Mr.. Sherman
expressed the opinion that II the confidence in
regard to the approaching race continued, he
would be able to place a per cent. loan. And
now, just as we were cOngratulating ourselves
on the apparent stability of our Institutions,
the news comes that Mr.. Courtney has devised
new plan for not rowing.
The reason why people believed that Mr..
Courtney would row was the fact that he had
exhausted all the known methods of avoiding
race. He had on one occasion rowed his she'll
against a concealed subauueCus wire which
bad ripped hole in the boat and put sudden
stop to the match; on another occasion he had
fallen suddenly Ill: and last fall his boats were
sawn assunder on the morning OF his most i'm
poTtant match. These seemed to be all the
conceivable methods OF avoiding race, and 1t
was manifest that none of these could be tried
twice. Concealed wires and Sawn boats are
miSiOrtuneS which Will not bear repetition,
and no Oarsman can fall sick on the eve of two
different matches without running the risk
or having his second attack prove fatal. There
was, then, good reason for believing that Mr..
Courtney could not escape rowing on the PO-
tomac next month"; and the State Department
was fully justified in expressing that view to
the governments of Europe
just as the revival of public confidence was
enabling people to pay some little attention to
such comparatively Jr1fing matters as the next
Presidential election, there comes, like light
ming from a clear sky, the announcement that
Mr. Courtney has invented something that he
calls new rowing-rig, which WILL as he
claims; enable him to row about three times
faster than any man has hitherto roWed. This
ingenious rig he intends to use in the app:o ca
ing race, and with it he promises to leave Mr.
Hanlan so far behind that the latter will not
Mr. Courtney will not do anything of the kind.
His new rig Is simply new method Of not
rowing at all. He expectstthat the referee will
forbid him to use 1t, on the ground that 1t will
be an infringement Of the conditions OF the
match, In which case he will refuse to row, and
the hopes Of the American people will be once
more ruined The ingenuity OF the device can
not be denied. 1t Is much more economic Il
than the plan of having ones boats sawed in
two, and is much more convenient than fall
ing sick. That it will be effective there is not
the least doubt, and we must make up our
minds to the awful certainty that Mr.. Court
ney will not row.
1t is intolerabe that great nation should
thus be at the mercy of one man. Our COM
meTce Is Frustrated and our credit weakened
by the universal uncertainty as to Mr.. Court
ney'S course which, except at brief intervals,
constantly prevails. In view of the enormous
Importance OF the matter, we should regulate
II by constitutional amendment What we
need is sixteenth amendment declaring that
in no circumstances shall a proposition be
made to or accepted by Mr. Courtney to row a
race with anybody. Should this become the
supreme law OF the land, there would be some
hope for the future OF our country. We should,
or course, suffer from our inability to decide
whether or not Mr.. Courtney Is a good oars
10 its very centre every six months by dis
cuSsfon OF the question, will Mr.. Courtney
row? We cannot exile him, for such remedy
is unknown to our laws, and however desirable
1t may seem to kill him, his crime is not at
present capital one, and we cannot pass an
tr post .fdctO law to punish him for what he
has already done. A constitutional amend
should adopt one meeting the eXigencieS OF the
case without delay. The sooner Congress takes
the matter in hand the better, and it will be
simply disgraceful If it wastes its time in ordi-
nary legislation instead or graphing at once
with the one subject of tranScendent import