Evening journal., 1914-04-09
american Athletes
IN NEXT OLYNPICS
Boys Hope to Clean Up in
Every Event in Berlin
Show
FOREIGNERS ARE
GETTING KINKS OUT
BY HAL SHERIDAN
Written for the United Press)

NEW YORK, April 9.-With plans
for the collection by subscription OF
100000 to send an American athletic
team TO the 1915 Olympics at Berlin
we'll under way, Old Uncle Sam bids
fair to walk of with another inter-
national field and track victory, de-
spite frantic efforts OF England.
France, Germany and Sweden to head
US or
II will be remembered that immedi-
ately after the last Olympics al
Stockholm. England, with great hue
and cry, set about to raise 'steen
thousand dollars to spend on manu-
featuring a team that would give the
British lion a chance to roar. Those
bally Briushers we're going to start
whang of the bat and develop
bunch of athletes who were TO garner
all the 1915 Olympia medals. honors,
records and ribbons In sight But al
ready, according to reports from the
land that has been startled from tea
drinking habits by an exhibition of
Yankee baseball which also shook the
crown from and derby hat onto
King Georges royal pate. the Eng
landers have begun to stall.
The wild enthusiasm which anna
teur field and track lovers of England
and the colonies stirred up for the
first few months following the Stock
holm games has since simmered down
until it's as lukewarm as a pot Of
tea would get by the time the seven
hundredth innings (that IS" belongs
there) of a cricket game rolled by
when il came time to collect passable
coin Of the realm and actually spend
II on hiring athletic trainers who had
the ability to develop the athletes,
there was little doing And it was
likewise when the suggestion was
made that England go out into her
byways TO get material. Never would
Il do, they argued, to have a member
of the common classes members Of an
athletic team that represented Eng
land. In England, you know, Old
Top-po, II man isn't gentleman"
he can hardly be classed as an anna
teur--at least it's nearly that badi
And so England appears to be back
I'm the same old rut
In France it has been slightly diff
ferent Those tempermcntai frenchmen
started right of the bat TO do the real
work, and If France doesn't show up a
whole lot better in 1915 it viii be
strange The report Of Americas
Stockholm victory wasn't cold on the
wires until the Frenchmen. backed by
the government, had gathered in a great
bunch OF shekels--or francs-and they
started TO spend the money in the right
way. They established a government
college OF Athletes" az Rheims, and
they hired some real athletic trainers
from America. The French government
appropriated about $4,000 to the "Col.
lege of Athletes" They went even fur
ther, Any man. officer or enlisted man,
in the army, who but shows promise of
developing into an athlete, is ordered
to take up his studies,a at Rheims. The
work is going on there now in stern
earnestness. and if not in 1915, then at
the next 0lympics, France is bound TO
be heard from.
Work very much similar 10 that being
done in France is today going on in
Germany and Sweden. The German
government is showing every encour-
agement, both financial and moral, to
those who arc developing athletes for
the Berlin games, and in Sweden they
are using that stadium they built for
the last Olympics as n practice ground
for developing the Swedish team.
But they have started too late for the
1915 games The United States has too
much Of a lead Witness the recent
amateur indoor championships held at
Madison Square Garden, where three
records were smashed and several more
were equalled. And be il remembered
that some dozen or more "record" men
whose homes are In the West and Mid
die West were not among those present,
and who can be counted on for points
in 1915.
Even at that however, II will never
do to sit back and count chicks just
yet That 100000 isn't all subscrib-
ed, and 100000 is a lot OF money. OF
course there are a lot OF missionary
societies who claim they need contri-
buttons. but there are also a lot OF
places where money might be worse
spent.
Many moons back we had some
spicy remarks to make on the cheese
fight champions OF today. Not one
word Of those remarks IS retracted
On the other hand this is a sequel OF
a second volume. Never In the history
OF the prize ring were there such a