The times., 1899-08-07
new ANGLO-SAEOB Ties
The Social Victory Won by Our
Athletes in England.
BrIfishers Surprised 10 Discover
That the Yale and Harvard Men
Character of the Univcrsity's In
fuences ON the Lives OF Men.

games at queen , AiuD last SaluTuag, mar
ward and Yale really won a victory which
stands by itself in the records of universi-
~ athletics. They overcame their yictors,
and through them the English peope.
Nothing has been more remarkable about
these sports than the universal manner in
which Englishmen, after some natural self
congrsyuiation over their narrow victory,
turned their attention 10 what one might
call the soeial-political aspect of the meet
ing Then ii was that Oxford and Cam
bridge truly discovered America and the
Americans. II has taken them a long time
10 do il, but now that IL is done not on y
are they TO be congratulated by others, but
they congratulate themselves. Something
OF the feeling to which ] refer is shown in
Truths" comments on the contest:
international events, even in our own islands.
when England and Scotland Wales OF Ireland,
are IN rivalry. have often led 10 depiCrahle fric-
tiou and indecent controversy The history Of
other sports. using the terra in its widest sense,
mas nor been such as 10 encourage q desire for
international contests. At last a new page IN
that history has been written. Previous contests
between Yale and oxford and Cambridge have
taught lessons which have not been lost and these
Sports have marked an epoch in athletic history.
X is secret that both at Yale and Harvard
there were sterling sportsmen who wished 10 see
Their university athletics newer and
nobler lines With their intense keenness TO
men had mistaken the shadows tor the sub
stance. and had permitted a class Of university
professionals 10 grow up. The meetings with cur
universities have stopped this practice in all
branches q sport at Yale and at Harvard. At
the dinner, when both teams were guests OF
the Qpccns Cinb, his Exceliency the American
Ambassador, Mr. Cboate, Lord jersey, and the other
speakers hoped THAT these meetings would take
place again. SO may il be. The more the men
of these four universities learn 10 appreciate one
another the better for both countries Such
meetings show that the old idea that oxford
and Cambridge are only good enough for one
another Is exploded. The fact that our men viii
meet those of Yale and Harvard in athletics viii
make all English university men glad TO meet
q j ale and Harvard wherever he may be.
hal has been called the university tip''-the
indeinabe something 4 man gets from belong
ing 10 a nniversity-becomes international in
its character. The lesson that we have learned
is cne ulat viii do immensity Of good, and
il is that the men Of Harvard and Yale are real
gsod fellows, 50 very, very different from what
many believe Americans 10 be.
The idea that oxford and Cambridge
are only good enough for one another"
and the surprising discovery that the
men Of Harvard and Yale are real good
fellows may provoke a smile of amuse-
ment. But the idea was deep-rOoted and
the discovery is as genuinely new as viii
be that Of a fourth dimension. There is
true story told OF one of the big English
schools sending a cricket challenge 10 Eton.
The less famous school had a fine eleven,
and had the meeting come on it might we'll
have won. But il was not this fact that
prompted EtOns reply, which was in the
following words: Rugby we've heard of.
Harrow we know, but who are ye?" When
The boys of Eton, Harrow, Rugby, VIM
chester and all the other schools Of Eng
land become the men of Oxford and Cam
bridge the school is merged into the uni
versity; they are all oxford men or Cam
bridge men, and to others their mental
attitude has been of the who are ye?"
stamp
One cannot help seeing the amusing side
OF this. but the important side is equally
patent. IN proposing the toast Of the
competing teams at the dinner held after
the sports the chairman, Lord Jersey, re-
marked how the closing years of this
century have brought home to each branch
Of our race that, whether We will or not,
the fortunes of the larger portion Of man
hirrr--zTe been committed to them to
make or 10 mar" This being so, the i'm
portance Of those two branches Of the race
knowing and understanding one another
goes without saying. And until Oxford
and Cambridge know something Of America
it can never be said that England does.
University Influences.
No country is more Influenced by her
universities than is England by oxford and
Cambridge All over the country Oxford
and Cambridge men are found in the most
influential positions in society, in the pro-
fessions and in politics. Oxford and Cam
bridge dominate the Church. OF thirty
five Bishops twenty-one are Oxonians, thir-
teen Cantabs, and one halls from Dublin. !
The education OF the English boy from the
age OF ten - nineteen is entirely in the I
hands of Oxford and Cambridge men, for 1
the most part young men TO whom their /
university is still the worlds centre of
gravity Oxford and Cambridge provide
the whole OF the civil service
of India and the higher branches OF the
home service. They are the nursery OF
Prime Ministers and Cabinets. The Lon
don press is said TO be dominated by Ok
ford men, certainly the higher places in II
are, and where can an American find
more astounding ignorance of things
American than is constantly cropping UP in
leading London newspapers? This is but
the merest indication of the thousand
channels by which these two universities
percolate through the various strata OF
English life. Hence it is that once fact !
Is thoroughly grasped by them IL stands a
good chance OF gradually dawning upon the |
Of the whole county.
And Oxford and Cambridge seem now 10 !
have acquired a new piece Of knowledge. |
Hunter, the President OF the united Oxford /
and Cambridge teams, acknowledged, amid /
laughter. when be thanked the Yale and |
Harvard men for their sportsmanlike be- /
hayior In all connected with the meeting, t
and FOR coming so far, that he didn't ex- I
acfIy know where they came from. Their /
exact position / am sorry 1 don't quite 1
know, be added, but that is an absolute /
detail. We don't want TO know exactly 4
y here they have come FROM but what they |
are-and that we do know"
Lookers-on at the sports were also much |
interested in comparing the general char
acteristics OF the two sets of men, and 1
most OF them came 10 very much the same
general conclusion. A writer in Truth"
says:
At presert the peculiar nervous temperament
of tile people in the States causes the uni
versiry nm TO account victory or defeat IN the
university sports oi much weight that he
lets athletic rrainine-and ] moi speaking
Of rrnning alone-beccme a serious and pro-
lOnged business Our visitors were surprised 4
at the litte time oar men had been IN strict
training. They themselves had been at work for
weeks and months. They came 10 the post as
1T and wei as ART could make them. There was
no collapse on the path. But once the race was
over, they gave up utterly. They took much
longer 70 round than our men. In their
dress nfE room they had beds on which they
lay and were rubbed AID dosed back 10 life and
energy. This prostTziion was more nervous than
physical. And yet ore could not help thinking
that their excessive training ruined their stamina
Tor the longer and more pUBislung IaceS. The
golden nlear between onr happy -go-lneky meth
ods and their srrt Nays seems best Zach side
has something to learn