The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-06-27
YALE VARSITY WINS. Captures the Great Aquatic Contest on Thames
 River in Fast
 Time.
RECORD ALMOST EQUALLED
OLD ELI'S OARSMEN ROJV JVITH-
 IN TEN SECONDS OF TT.


 the Freshmen Contest Is a Dead Heat
 The Latter One of the Grandest Con
 tests Ever Seen on the River-Harvar,
 No Good.
 New London June 26.--Rowing with
 in ten seconds of record time the Yale varsity crew this afternoon lowered the colors of the fastest eight tha Harvard has yet produced Yale wor by four boat lengths. Yale's time was 20:20 Harvards 20:33. In the four. cared race the coors of Harvard were borne to the front. The Cambridge four won by two and one-haf lengths.
 In the freshman race Yale's crew led over the last mile until within few feet of the finish when the Harvard crew by a magnificent spurt jumped their shell up even with the blue. The judges were compelled to decide that the race was a draw.
 Twenty-Five thousand people saw the Ellis row to victory in the big varsity race. But while the crowd was great it was the presence Of President Theo- dore Roosevelt which made the crowd unique in the history of Yale and Har- ward races. The president saw the fin ish of all three races from aboard the Dolphin, which was anchored just above the finish line. He declined the invitation of the regatta committee to go aboard Cornelius Vanderbilt $ 1o,y he tn remain aboard the Dolphin where he could be with his family. The eyes of 25,O00 people meanwhile searched yacht after yacht in the hope of a glimpse of the president.
 After a stormy night and a morning which seemed to mean postponement of the races until Friday the afternoon de- veloped into a cloudless day of almost perfect weather for shell racing. The wind blew quartering on the course from the northwest, but with the ception of the varsity four-oar race the crews could not have had much better water. More yachts than ever before in the quarter of century of Yale and Harvard races on the broad Thames were anchored along the last mile and half Of the course. They formed @ solid avenue and filled the river from bank to bank with a glorious tinge of colors, which above the blue waters of the Thames, made picture against the cloudless sky the like of which no ar tist has ever painted. No crews have ever had a grander audience. The closeness of the varsity race brought out the greatest crowd of Yale and Harvard graduates and undergraduates that has ever come to New London, while the presence of the president act ed as magnet to the people for many miles around the Thames. Rough wa ter necessitated the postponement of the varsity race from until o'clock. The varsity four-oared race was rowed a few minutes before o'clock. The wind at this time was blowing q gale and Referee William A. Meikleham de- cided to postpone the freshman and Varsity races. A quarter before six o'clock the referee steamed over the course in August Belmont's launch, Scout, notified the crews to get ready. The long observation trains on either bank of the river were by this time lying alongside of the starting flag.
 
 empty seat, the two big trains bearing over 5000 people were bright with the gowns of pretty women and the colors of fair Harvard and old Yale. Mighty cheers resounded among the green hills of Montville and Gales Ferry as the Harvard eight rowed over to the start five minutes before six o'clock
 Yale was tri1e slow in leaving her boat house and Referee Meikleham mo- tified the Ellis a second time By 6:O7 both crews were at their stakeboats. on the observation train was so great that Referee Meikleham had to signal to the crowd to keep | quiet, so that the crews might hear the pistol shot. At 609 the referees | pistol flashed and the two big shells | Ieaped away from their stakeboats. | Harvard got the best of the start and | in ten strokes had the nose of her | shell a quarter of length ahead of the | blues boat. The crimson's crew had | the best water over the first quarter | mile and her men made all out of 1t | that they possibly could.
 Harvard started at thirty-six strokes to the minute, Yale at thirty-two. By the end or the llTSL HdlL illllt Ildi Ndl u had dropped her stroke to thirty-four while Yale still held hers at thirty-two At the half mile flag the boats were almost even. The watches on the ref aree's boat recorded Yale's time for this half mile at 2;29 1-2, Harvard at l:29 3-4. Yale had cut down Harvard's cad while rowing from two to four ess strokes to the minute. Over the next half mile the race was desper- ate struggle between two powerful ,rews. The boats zigzagged for min 1te and half and then the blue shell began to creep ahead.
 Yale reached the first mile flag at 5:O4, .wo second before Harvard. The Ellis were two-thirds of length ahead. Yale lad dropped her stroke to 31 per minute md Harvard had let hers down to 92.
 1Continued on Sixth Page.) ,: