Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-23
Bv Edward r. Bushnell.

BY EQWdTo W. oOoAASAA'
Not very many persons who have
been close students of athletic tenden-
cies i'm England entertained any expec-
tation that Oxford and Cambridge uni
yersities would accept the challenge
sent them recently by the 1. c. a. A A.
A. for an international track and neio
meet in connection with the coming
Olympic meet this summer In Aonooh:
Rut while the declination was iookeo
for, no one thought that the britohs
would insult the honesty of the asso-
oiation which controls and has oroushI
tn its present high standard the ih.ei
collegiate athletics OF TINS couii'iS
when the meet was first suggested anu
Tho challenge drawn up the writer eA
nressed the opinion that the Eneiisn
would certainly decline, and that IL Tue
meet were by any chance arranged 'ne
uearers of the stars and stripes "ouiU
score an overwhelming Victory.
rho English are not at all concise III
IT. the reasons for their refusal
Thev bunch most of their reasons AZ
49, +erms masquerade dlMculties'
mh;oh NAV mean multitude OF things
R,It the part Of the text wiz =. the
aroused the most resentmeHt, Inc ar
aapaSranh fascinating that with one VI
para nan+tons the English could NOT
he assured that the Ame rlcan I'm
foam would contain only ana A
spite of the fact Ina. tn the BONA fide
rppteurism Of every man on tLe ;aio,,s
;can team. the Britons are So tter Of
that they must make IL m tn a
precise INQUIRY: nei dual meet be-
Wiz, oxford and Cambridge, iepid
"ntino the English college Wolia lie
Harvard and Yale, represetheir belief
5ia' A. A. A.. indicates their mnre
Z. "A. a. Harvard and Yale are pure
ena .bat thew themselves Wouiu ~, ~ al
anu ;. n nv association with tne
Iced amateurs from sucn t.ornell
as Princeton, aeariy a score Of other
i,a, orican universities whose nioss
Sodies are made up OF the sand and
of Young gentlemen as rarlnok the
OF Tbe Englishmen over IN
aaIe' +,at ne precisely the same eHsi nIines
IaSt 49, NO in force at every
,,,hicb is a member or the i. Vie can
and neither Harvard nor than
boast of any hig siss at a the other big
thal Cites of this country. Ao,Iod
uniEeiS Lon will resent this a "a
CO.. insult because our ama.1 viii not
honesty in athletics S with English
he dimmed by compai ''oA
standards.
Nav Me6C ndIVdA0 NA~0
Unless Harvard and Yale should resent
the aspersion cast upon intercoliesia.e
athletics in this country 1t seems hAeiS
that the two institutions will perfect their
n,ons for a dual meet with Oxford ana
r.mhridee to be held shortly before the
O,vmpic games, or perhaps the week loi
lowing lnasmuch as the 1a ai. q hn-
Wa,a athletes can hardly lay claim to pc
;rg of a better species OF American na,i
hood. morally and athleticanE, tnan .I,o
students from the other coiieS ia.e ny" HI
| hers of the !. c. A. A. A; 'le ~ Svsti6ad
Ireland universities would ne Justii!eu
- eaI Hing off all arrangements lot inns III
tn-national meet If they accent the lhNl-
tation of the Englishmen II WIN lay s Sider
omen to the charge thaI tie! 1900
themselves better tiaii 'io
of the association. Ill, nj m
We the meet is arranged 1t VIII not re-
10 mnch sympathy from the other
American colleges. NO matter $3.50
;s Intentional or not, the idea VIII oe Pr,
,sntnd industrious.y in certain sections
th.+ this meet will be an lhlethdt.oIi nc,
test of the intercollegiate s'rens.n VI co.
two countries. This may be rue as
as England is concerned. put IL Is VIZ
nn+rme 80 far as this country Is concerhea,
Iast wear Harvard finished seventh AZ
the intercollegiate championships, .h 80,
vale was third. and in 19o' 1aie mas -
and Harvard fourth. pennsylvania, Soa
rn,i nr Michigan are better able to defeat
n Hsi fo 70 and Cambridge than Harvard and
Yale.
Hard Times for the Athletes.
Cornell and the University or fehh-
svlvauia seem to be waging a contest
tight now to see which can do the most
damage to their respective track teams
through the medium Of Their faculty atm
letic committees. The Ithacans have sus-
nended Capt. Townsend. who was second
in the half-mile run last June. and Col
pitts, the captain and star member OF
the cross-country team. In addition, the
Jthacans have lost White. who was third
in the shotput year ago. and ex-cap-
tain Lemon of the cross-country team,
the latter two having been made instruct
ors in the university.
At Pennsylvania the AK fell On one
man only, but it was a terrible blow.
for it removed from the track team Guy
Haskins the intercollegiate mile, half
mile and cross-country champion. I'M
ioubtedly the best distance runner that
America possessed. Haskins. ii seems, was
not altogether to blame for his predca-
ment He is a New Zealander, and after
graduating with high rank was doing
postgraduate work, but neglected TO
take enough hours to suit the department
and was dropped in consequence, without
any possibility of reinstatement. His loss
hoe ropooyod fan nOiutS from the Quaker