The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-06-22
YALE CAN BEAT HARVARD
THAT IS THE OPINION EXPRESSED
 BY COACH COURTNEY.


 Cook Says That the Cambridge Crew is
 Not Rowing as Fast as it Should-Notes
 from Poughkeepsie.
 Poughkeepsie, June 21.-This was ob- servation day, and altogether it was the most important of those preceding the big races. Everybody saw every body else work, and everybody is pret- ty well satisfied that his crew is the best, and that there will be one of the hardest fought contests in the history of aquatics.
 Early in the afternoon Coach Court ney of the Cornell crew decided that he would like to see the other crews row-a thing that in the work of pre- pairing his own crew he had been un- able to accomplish. He was particu- larly anxious to see Harvards varsity row, and accepted an invitation to go out on the Associated Press launch. He was particularly fortunate in his selec- tion of the time of day, for he saw all of the crews with the exception of Yale. It seems as if MT Courtney's desire to see the other crews was shared by all the other trainers. Pennsylvania took its afternoon practice spin very early about o'clock-and after the men had returned to the boat house Coach Ward started up the course with his launch to see Harvard row.
 Coach Cowles had brought Columbia out for brief spin, and after taking them two miles down the river and two miles back he allowed them to go home and then waited also to see the Har- ward crews. Coach Cook of the Yale crew evinced enough interest in the proceedings to put couple of his youngsters in the pair-oared tub and carelessly strolled over to where Har- ward was about to finish their three mile spin.
 MT. Courtney declined to say any thing about the chances of his own crew, but looked thoroughly well pleas- ed with his first observation of Har- wards rowing and said: T do not be- lieve the Harvard crews are rowing any faster than they rowed last year. They start at the same quick 3S-stroke, and settle it down to stroke of 34, trying to set killing pace.'' Then he added: q think Yale can beat Har- vard.''
 Coach Ward of the Pennsylvanians said: 'The so-called longer stroke of Harvard is not visible. They make more effort with their backs, but less with their blades. I think CornelPs varsity crew can defeat Harvard s varsity crew as easily as it was done last year. It seems to me that the fight for first place will be between Yale and Cornell, with the chances in favor of Cornell
 Coach Cook rowed about the finish of the Harvard trial, and looked on rather critically, declining positively to make a public criticism but he did say to a Yale graduate later on: Harvard is not rowing as fast as she should. Cornell's morning practice was fast'' The adage that time and tide wait for no man" is causing much vexatious worry among the crews and trainers of each, and there is good deal of spec ulation as to what the outcome will be | if the water conditions for the big race on Friday are not just what they are announced to be.
 | For the past three days there has not been any portion of the day when the tides were accurate in accordance with the government prediction, and | even the old river men have been at | fault
 l Pennsylvania's crews were out to-day and experienced the same conditions | that raised havoc with the Cornell crews on Saturday. The best of the three crews caught just the swing of the flood tide and were held in its vice. | like grip, and the other crews fairly slid away from them on the full ebb. | The agreement for the race for Fri | day was signed to-day, and provides | that the varsity race shall take place between the hours of 3:30 and 5:30 p. m. to be rowed down the river. Any fail ure to begin the rowing before 5:30 acts as postponement till some future day If the wind and surface water condi- tions at 3:30 were such as to compel a postponement of the race for an hour there would be great danger of the men being caught between the flood and the ebb, and one of the three boats, prob ably the one in position No. 1, or near est the shore, would be handicapped tC an extent making it impossible to win l if that crew were the most capable rowing eight of the three. Of course any one of the three crews, at the | drawings which take place tomorrow night, is liable to get that position, sc that, as one of the trainers said to- night:
 ''The toss of a cent may mean the loss of the race to the best crew" Two Harvard crews left their boat house about 6:30 and after the varsity men had tried some new oars and re- fused them they were photographed sitting in their she'll Coach Lehman 1 then lined them up about half a mile above the four-mile start and gave them a pistol-shot start.
 | The freshmen got away first, and ii 1 took a quarter of mile of good, hard rowing on the part of the varsity mer to shove their boats nose up front Coach Lehman saw all the trainers and experts watching them, and or. dered them to stop rowing at the three quarter of a mile mark. Then he lined them up again. and gave them another pistol-shot start. Again the freshmen pulled out quickest and the varsity soon overhauled them and MT. Leh mann sent the youngsters back home Then he gave the varsity a row O. about a mile, stopping them every quarter to give instructions.
 It was noticeable that Harvard! ] varsity crew started every time witt a stroke of 3S to the minute-exactly | of Ct,o1rae 1r-ift ot