Evening star., 1913-12-02

LONDON, December 2.-"Amercan
sport and American victories have
solid basis in the general soundness and
athletic activities of American youth
among all classes of the nation" says
Walter Won Reichenau. representative of
the German army on the German
Olympic games committee.
With all the thoroughness of his ma
ton. all the desire for detail SO charac-
tcristic of his race, Won Reichenau-made
the closest possible study of the athletic
conditions in the United States. and now
has written for the Daily Mail a very
interesting article on American athletic
training. He says:
In the five Olympic games which have
been held up to the present United
States athletes were the winners in near
II all athletic events. This we'll known
fact called forth all sorts of explanations
among the defeated competitors, and not
infrecuently were expressions heard like
'unwholesomc specialism. ambition for
records professionalism etc.
But German athletes who took part in
the last Olympic games held at Stock
holm reported that the Spectacular per-
formances' of the Americans must be
ascribed to a superiority OF method and
training.
THE moral was plain. and the first au-
thority in German sport. the 'Deutsche
Reichsausschuss fur Olympische Spiele.
resolved to send over commission TO
the United States. in order to find out
the secret of these SO often repeated sue
cesses. ! had the honor to be member
of this commission.
I'VE went for a five-week trip through
the eastern part of the United States as
far as Chicago. We visited the great
IN -
the great universities. such as Pennsyl-
vania, Princeton. Columbia, Harvard and
Yale. and We were given a very thorough
insight into the social and sporting life
clubs.
Common Misinformation.
IF l tried to put our observations into
nutshell I should say: All the re-
proaches We have SO often heard have
vanished into thin air and we have come
to the conclusion that they We're preju-
dices due to the common misinformation
about the United States and it's people
which is not seldom circulated throughout
Europe.
Prom the very beginning of our studies
we were met in the frankest way. 1t was
plain enough that there could not be any
secrets or special tricks, for the commits
| sion had the heartiest welcome at its ar
. rival in New York, and all doors We're
thrown open to us. At the reception dim
ner given to US by the New York Athletic
Club we heard remarkable speeches.
American sport We were plainly told.
is to be an open book for you. In this
book you may read and study as much as
you like. Moreover. we are anxious to
give you any information you want and
to help you in every respect We will
prove to you that there are no secrets and
tricks we do not want you to know of as
well We do. We do not wish to win
victory that Is due to some special knowl
edge; the object we aim at is that every
nation should have the same knowledge in
things of sport and the same chance.
:. This may be the basis for fair COM
petition for the sake of sport. You may
work out a standard program for the
Olympic games. containing standard COM
petitions that do not give a special ad-
| vantage to any Nation. All we can do is
at your service, for We want to help you
to bring about worlds contest under
fair propositions. Our sole >.m is to find
out the best man.
The Americans are men of action.
| They have made good their words. The
| United States is an old country SO far
as intelligently organized track and field
| sports are concerned. The whole Amer
| lean nation is deeply interested in sport.
! Snort has become a very important fac
tor in the education of the nation, and
| this not only for its physical advan-
tages, but also for it's moral benefits.
Laid Out System.
] Men of foresight have created a we'll
| laid out system. which applies to all
classes of population. There are the
numerous Fairgrounds in every large city
for the grammar school boys. Built
often amid the most crowded parts of
the cities, lavishly provided with in
structors and all arrangements for hy-
sene and sports. are running tracks,
swimming pools gymnasiums and appa-
| ratus. They are intended to give to the
poorer classes the advantages of sport.
''They serve both for the health and
physical development of the children and
| for their moral education. That they
! keep them from loafing about cannot be