Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-16
HARVARD NOT A
REPRESENTATIVE CREW
Was Easily Defeated by Cor
nell on Charles River Early
in the Season.

The defeat Of Harvard at London on Sat-
urday. September 9, by the champion Cam
bridge University crew has opened up anew
the old argument as to the comparative
merits Of the collegiate oarsmen of Amer
lea, !. e.. those who annually meet as the
representatives of America at the open to
all Poughkeepsie the closed affair of
New London between Harvard and Yale.
The argument has become more than heat
ed on the part of those who follow the des-
tiny Of the Poughkeepsie contingent, from
the fact that at the social function and
banquet rendered to the Harvards by the
victorious Britishers, the Harvards have
been invariably toasted as the fastest and
fact, Ambassador Whitelaw Reid dropped
into this strain on two different occasions
when called on for a talk.
Harvard's Real Status.
It IL this oft-repeated sentiment abroad
that sticks in the outlets Of the Poukh-
keepsie cohorts, especially as the Harvards
allowed the expressions to go out without
any sort OF denial. 1t might be well to
chronicle at the offset that Harvard went
to England to meet the Cambridge stu
dents solely on it's own authority, a match
race arranged between them, because hav-
ing at last conquered Yale 1t sought new
laurels and stuck out at the "Cantabs."
who. fresh with their victory over Oxford.
were regarded as England's best. 1t had
the right to make the journey II 1t so de-
sired is admitted by all followers of Pough-
keepsie. but to be houted as the best crew
Of America is something the majority of
college men who follow aquatics will not
pass as proper or just in any manner, no
matter how any one regards it. The best
critics admit that the Yale and Harvard
crews at New London this year were pitt
iC 26yor nad
by many that the last crew in the varsity
race at Poughkeepsie would have awashed
either Harvard or Yale over the four-mile
course.
As a matter of fact Cornell easily de-
feated Harvard n a two-mile race on the
Charles river in the spring of this year, and
Cornell's' crew was the one that won at
Poughkeepsfe, while Harvard finished first
at New London and finished behind Cam
bridge In the recent race. In that famous
two-mile race Cornell romped away from
fair Harvard and ANONYMOUSLY defeated
them by ten lengths. Think of it, ten
lengths in two miles. equal to about six
hundred feet. and in the face Of things the
crew is heralded as Americas best and
fastest.
A Cor lellian's Opinion.
ut is enough to make one SICK" said a
Cornell graduate over at the Potomac boat
house Friday. Ito read and hear such pratt
tie poured over weak crew, whose defeat
was a foregone conclusion. Despite the
rosy and high-colored reports sent out by
the critics of England in regard to Har-
ward and their fine Workmanship 1t re-
mains true that they did not have the
form of a crew like Cornell, Pennsylvania,
Wisconsin or Georgetown. Think of It,"
continued the disciple of the Ithaca Uni
versity, Cambridge led at the mile by two
lengths, and you have an illustration of
the power behind the sweeps of the crew
Why, Cambridge just toyed with them, and
viewing it In the light of a critic they could
have made it a quarter of a mile in the
long row If they had SO desired. 1t is all
swash to talk about the eddies and cur
rents Of the Thames helping the English
crew four lengths in their course as re-
ports say both crews rowed within two
lengths of each other, and it necessarily
follows that the currents, eddies or what
ever else could not affect the speed when
both boats We're SO close together Har-
wards crew was a weak one in every sense
Of the word, and was no more representa-
tive Of the-b eight-oared crew Of Amer
lea than Georgetown would have been in
the race and touted the same way The
time is coming said the Comedian, when
L hope to see Yale and Harvard come down
out of their exclusiveness and become
Americans in the sense which means a
fair field and the best crew to win. Let
them enter the Poughkeepsie race, or let
the winner at New London row the win
ner or Poughkeepse, and then, if they de-
sire. send the best crew to England This
IS the only way to settle the question and
stop all the useless argument that is now
going the rounds of press, club and wher-
ever college men assemble