The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-06-29

yes; | won that by half a yard, In
sixty-seven. 1t was a glorious race
Tom Brown thought he would get ahead
of me, and it was nip and tuck for the
last hundred yards, but Iinanaged to
draw forward. How the boys OF my
house yelled and cheered." So remarks
a rather portly old gentleman, who is
showing the athletic trophies of his
youth. He has preserved them careful
ly and they are among his most cher
ished treasures.
The idea is suggested by a remark
in a letter signed "Yachtsman" which
appeared in yesterdays Star. Yachts
man" said:
In the opinion of the writer and
many other yachtsmen the committee
makes a mistake in Offering money
prizes at all for the races. The own
ers of the yachts would. have much
more pride in getting cups or other
trophies which might be souvenirs of
the occasion, than in drawing a paltry
500"
"Yachtsman" is quite right. 1t is
mistake offering money prizes for anna
tours, and there is a worthy pride in
acquiring cups and trophies which are
priced not for their intrinsic value, but
for their marking of an event when the
owner overcame his peers either by his
own prowess or by his skill.
The most coveted prize in the world,
to win which millions have been spent,
is the America cup, the intrinsic value
of which is not $500. If, when the Am
erica schooner went to Cowes on that
celebrated yachting expedition in 1851,
her owner had received a cash prize,
would there ever have been the excite
ment over the races or the eagerness
to win it back, which is now displayed.
The whole world goes into spasms of
excitement when any yachtsman makes
up his mind to try for the trophy.
What is a hundred-pound cup to the
owner of the Puritan, a Valkyrie, a
Columbia or a Shamrock? 1t is the
honor, not the cup, that is sought.
We see this in many things. The
most coveted order in the British army
I is little cross of gun metal not worth
! five shillings, and yet a man would
rather have that than the most costly
| jewel of the Bath, blazing with dia-
I monds. The Victoria cross is purely an
| honor, but what an honor. Looking
| back over the ages, the most coveted
| distinction that a Roman soldier could
get was a wreath of laurel, but how
the dried leaves were treasured and
kept in priceless Baskets and passed
from father to son among the most
cherished heirlooms.
But there is an entirely different light
in which money prizes must be regard
ed. Toaccept money prize takes man
out of the ranks of amateurs and puts
him among the professionals. In any
kind of racing, taking money as prize,
bars a man from taking part in anna
teur races. With annexation we have
come under the jurisdiction of the Ann
ateur Athletic Union, and if we are, as
one hopes we are 20 take part in some
of the athletic contests Of the Mainland,
we must look very carefully to the
rules of that association. In that asso-
citation money prizes are barred, and
, those who have run for money prizes
are barred.
The boat clubs here have shown the
right way, by making the prize for the
rowing championship a silk flag. NO
prize goes to the winner of the Har-
vard-Yale boat race, save the oar with
which the man pulled. Most inter
university races in England either carry
no prize, at all, or only a pewter pot"
on which can be engraved the arms of
the college and the date of the victory.
Committees when making up their
prize lists should keep these things In
mind. They have been spoken of again
and again, but the difference between
the professional and the amateur is not
sufficiently clear to the Honolulu pub
lie yet. 1t is quite clear to the lovers
of sport on the Mainland, as it is also
quite clear to the lovers of sport in
Great Britain and the Colonies. 1t is
high time we got into line here and
drew the distinction as clearly. The
error has been lack of knowledge. Peo-
pie cannot plead ignorance any longer.
The boat clubs and athletic associa-
lions should take the matter up and
settle it for once and for all.
1t has been a good idea to have a sort
| of reserve police force which could take
tI,a ,,laca of the repll1ar force shOlIld II