Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1912-07-19

StOckhOlm.-The last act or the
Olympic drama was played in the Sta
dium, and as usual. Uncle Sam occu-
pied the centre of the stage. The De-
cathlon, one of the classic contests OF
the games was won by James Thorpe,
the big Fox and Sax brave, from the
Carlisle Indian School. Thorpe scored
SAP POINTS out of a possible 10000.
beating his nearest competitor. Weis-
lander of Sweden, by 68S points Un-
Gle Sans flying four, Melvin Shep-
pard. Tad" Meredith, Edward Lind
berg and Charles Reidpath, flung their
feet in the faces of the French and
British teams in the final of the 1000
meter relay, covering the distance in
the Olympic and worlds record time
of SIG 3-5.
For the victory in the pentathlon
Thorpe earned the right to hold until
the next Olympic meet the challenge
cup presented by the King of Sweden
and by winning the decathlon he is
entitled to the custody of the chal-
lenge cup presented by the Emperor
of Russia. High honors indeed for
one of the aborigines on the splendid
team that came from the United
States to lead the nation for the fifth
time in the recognized athletic cham
pionships of the world
For most of the ten days that these
competitions have held the spectators
enthralled the United States has led
the rest of the world combined, but
rousing finish by Sweden and scatter
ing points gathered in by other coun-
tries brought the total scored by all
other countries up to 81 when the cur
tain fell on the most successful set of
Olympic games since the festival was
revived in 1896 Against this the Uni
ted States rolled up So. or only mi
nority of 8.
Besides the United States only
three nations earned a score which
ran into double figures. Finland,
mainly through the efforts of the great
distance runner Kolehmainen, finish
ed second, with 20 points The Swedes
landed in third place with "a.
In scoring these points three are
given for first place. two for second
and one for third
The task of comforting the honors
on the winners was too great for one
man, so while the King handed out
the first prizes, the Crown Prince pre-
sented the second prizes, and Prince
Charles, brother of the King, took
charge of the thirds.
In the parade of the winners the
Americans led the way, and received
hearty applause not only because Of
the fact that they had won sixteen
frsts and had scored 12S points to
Sweden's 1O4 and England's 66. but
because the American athletes are
genuinely popular with the Stockholm
public.
Besides receiving a gold medal,
each winner of first prize was crown
ed with laurel wreath by the hands
of the King.
"You, sir, are the most wonderful
athlete in the world" 1t was with
those words that King Gustave of
Sweden greeted James Thorpe. the
American Indian when the redskin
stepped up to receive his prizes at the
trophy presentation by the King.
The Olympic curtain falls with I'm
Gle Sam still the undefeated and un-
disputed athletic champion of the
world. The Yankee gentlemen won
the worlds athletic title at the first
modern Olympiad in Athens in 1896.
and successfully defended it in Paris
in 90O on his own soil in St Louis in
1904, in Athens again in 1906, in Lon
don in 1908, and finally here in Stock
holm in the big battle just brought to
a close
f. Lazaro. the only Portuguese en-
tered in the Olympic Marathon, is
dead as a result of his gruelling work
In the hot sun.