Bisbee daily review., 1920-07-04

important events in the world of sports is an international yacht race for the Americas cup. There may be world series in baseball. inter- national polo matches, tennis con tests for the Davis cup and other forms Of sports but few of these events create more interest shan is centered in race for the blue rib bon of the seas What creates the enthusiasm on the part of millions of people who do nOt know boom from a gaff is now one of the won ders' of the sporting world. Still it is the case and must therefore be accepted withou; comment.
 The only solution to the mystery lies in the fact that the lay mind is astonished by the tremendous sums that have been spent in races for the Americas cup. That men are willing to spend a million dollars to defend d battered piece of silver that orig inally was worth only 100 Suineas. appeals to the popular fancy. Not one penny comes back in the way of gate receipts" Again. once the series is ended. the yachts that raced are only worth what they will bring in junk Nothing is more useless than an Americas cup boat when the series is ended.
 When Commodore Stevens and his associates originally gave the 100 guinea cup" to the New York Yacht cI,,h t. he a na,nat,taI tronhv fO, i'm ternational racing, they never dream ed that race for the bit of silver would cost d fortune. The ever fn- creasing- cost is just the result of oircumstances. That cup race was too much for one man 10 finance first became apparent after Canada had tried unsTccessfully to capture the cup with the sIoop Atlanta.
 Ii was in the f;,ll of 1881, after that unsuccessful att elnpt, that the off cials of the New York Yacht club first began to take account or the cost of defending the trophy. It was the first time that yacht had been built for the especial purpose of de- tending the cup. although the new craft Pocahontas, proved to be failure and was not used for that purpose The boat was built by the flag officers of the club. and the cost of construction, added to the cost of running her during her trial period and with the incidental expense to the club of managing the contest, made total of $20,000.
 This, in the eyes of the racing of@ ficials. was rather a large sum 70 pay for the purpose, and they con cluded that something would have to be done to reduce the cost of the cup races. Something was done, in the way of amending the deed of gift in such manner as to prevent small Canadian boats from challeng- ing thereafter.
 At present, the cost of defending the cup in one contest is considera- ble more than 20 times the $20.0OO of a generation ago. and more than 100 times the cost of earlier races. When James Ashbury came over fIr 1870 with hls schooner Cambria, he merely varied his summer program of cruising and incurred compara- lively small outlay for some extra fittings and a slightly enlarged crew. If he had not come to America 10 race for the cup, MT. Ashbury prob ably would have taken a cruise in European waters of about the same duration.
 Mir. Ashbury built the schooner Lii vonia. with which he challenged in 1872 Possibly he might not have built new boat that year if he had not contemplated challenging, but un- doubtedly he would have built one within year or two in any event as it was generally known that he wanted something little better than Cambria
 Major Clifford. in whose behalf the Royal Canadian Yacht club issued a challenge in 1876. was the first to build a boat especially to race for the cup. She was the schooner Countess of Dufferin. She cost prob ably not less than S25,OOO and not more than S35 900 to build and race It was the beginning of the building of specially designed craft for Amer ica's cup races.
 Both the Genesta and Galatea were built especially to race for the cup. The former came in 1885. and in that year, ,he heavy expense of defense began although the beginning was a matter of small importance compar- ed with the expense of today. The cost of the building of the Puritan in 1885, added to the cost of her man. agement for the season figured to about $35.000. It cost almost as much for the building and operating of Priscilla, Puritan's unsuccessful rival.