The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-01-21
WILL PRINCETON ROW?
Boating Favored by Students, But
Opposed by the Alumni.
Special to the Jersey city Me,cs.

Special 20 Tue Jcf3cy LIy INeUy.
TRENTON, Jan. 81, 1S92.-The question
of organizing a university boat club crew
to compete with the three other leading
universities, which has been under dis
cussion for the past two months, reached
it's climax on Tuesday evening, in the
publication in a special edition of the
Princetonidn of letters oil the subject
from some of the leading alumni inter-
ested in Princeton athletics, and more
especially in boating. OF the ten, six let
uers~ discouraged the idea of organizing
a university crew, on the ground OF the
failure of Princeton from 1877 to 1882 to
win any honors in this line. These were
from James w. Alexander. go. of New
York; j.. Bayard Henry, Jr., '76, of Phil
adelphia; w. H. Van Lennsp. US. of
Philadelphia; Henry B.. Thompson, ~, of
Rockford, Del; Woodrow Wilson. 70, of
Princeton, and Alexander Moffatt. '64, of
New York. All were unanimous in the
belief that private practice in barges for
development and exercise OF football men
or olher athletes would not be objection
able, but would serve to keep the men i'll
training in and out of season.
The four who were III favor of again re-
viving boating in Princeton as HI inter,
collegiate sport Were j. Madison Taylor,
'76, of Philadelphia; Duncan Edwards
'S5. of New York; Tracy Harris, 1856, of
New York, and Edgar Allan Poe, '91. of
Baltimore.
The more conservative alumni are OPP
posed to the idea OF the ground that
Princeton has not the proper facilities for
boating, the only water being the Della
ware and Rariian Canal, and this has
proved Of no use in paat history. During
the ten years from 1872 to 1882, in which
Boating was given q fair trial at Prince
ton, only .one intercollegiate champion
ship was won by Princeton, and this
was when the class of III won in their
freshman year. In the races tor the
Childs Cup during this period at Phila-
delphia, Princeton only won once. and
that was by default. IN the intercollegiate
faces between the university crews the
record shows that Princeton came in last
nearly every year. III the minor races in
the Harlem, Newark and Passaic regattas,
Princeton won Il few prizes.
The progressive element among the
alumni and students at large favors the
idea of a university crew. They base
their hopes on the growth Of the uni
versity and the increased support, fnan-
cial and otherwise. Nearly all depart
ments of athletics at Princeton are self
supporting and on Il substantial basis.
The Iona Boat Club has sent the fol-
lowing invitation to Princeton as an in
ducement:-
The Iona Boat Club of the Schuylkill Navy ex-
tends a cordial invitation TO Princeton College
oarsmen to accept the privileges of their club
house in Paramount Park during the rowing
season OF 1882.
IL is held that this practice on Five
water" together with the preliminary
I practice on the. canal. would enable
Princeton to organize a crew able to
compete successfully with the other
colleges. The students are somewhat
discouraged at the letters received from
the alumni, as there has been great en-
thuSiasm heretofore in this direction
among tho student body. The Princeton
ian. ~embodying the sentiments of the
! students, has not entirely given up the
project. but states editorially:-
1t is hardly to be expected now that Princeton
| can put out a winning crew in a season or two,
but if there is enough interest in college al
prese MT to make men walk to the canal to p vi
boats in the water and really row, there is nc
reason why rowing as a pastime and q splendid
means of exercise cannot be- succes sfully inaug
uratsd. There has be IN q great deal of discus
sion anout the crew, and it now remains to be
seen whether, in SPITE OF the damper thrown on
thu university crew for '02, there is not, after all
enough rowing intsret il college to at least
make q start in this direction.