The daily morning oasis., 1920-04-04
ANTWERP PREPAR.
ING FOR 1920
OLYMPICS
By r. H. SHEFFIELD

Omitted Press Staff Correspondent
ANTWERP, April 2.-Quite apart
from the sporting viewpoint and the
possibilities of national athletic tri-
umphs, Belgium expects to turn the
1920 Olympiad to commercial accounts
in reconstruction of a war-raveaged
country. Such is the frank admission
Of Count de Baillet-Latour, president
of the Antwerp Olympic committee,
himself the keenest of sportsmen who
however is under no deliusions as to
amount of interest displayed in sport
by his countrymen, generally.
Interviewed by the United Press,
Count de Baillet-Latour declared, "The
Olympic games are going to. play a
big part in the reconstruction of Bel
gium, inasmuch as participants and
spectators will include men from all
parts of the world, who will use the
opportunity thus offered to open up
new business prospects.
'"The war has shown the value of
sport as an aid to physical develop
ment and the more widely sport is
recognized the more popular it be-
comes. Thia year Belgium is going
to help popul Fize sport, and incident
ally she will bus help in the recon-
struction of er own industry. In
point of fact the Antwerp Olympic
games promise to make good through
out France as well.
"For example, manifesto has been
issued by the French National Sports
federation urging all young men in all
branches of sport to go into hard
training right away, so as to uphold
at Antwerp the honors already gained
by French at Athens and Stockholm.
The Swis government is giving a SUBJ
vention of $4,000 francs in aid of the
Swiss share Of the work at Antwerp,
and this will be supplemented by
national subscription organized by the
Swiss Sports federation. Fourteen
big Swiss sporting organizations are
already booked for Antwerp"
Regarding Belgium's contribution
to the games, Count de Baillet-Latour
declared regretfully, Belgium itself,
in so far as the man in the street is
concerned, cares little for sport. He
does not see the necessity for it. The
average Belgian cannot differentiate,
for example, between boxing and
fighting; between rugby and soccer,
between tennis and lawn tennis. Yet
the nethusiasm of those young folks
who do get interested in sport is simp-
ly excessive"
That a large influx of visitors is
expected is proved by the energetic
way in which the executive commit
tee is making plans for the accom-
modation of throngs of sightseers.
With Antwerp as a terminal on some
of the giggest trans-ocean steamship
routes, and in view of the direct SER
vice between Antwerp and New York,
Baltimore and Philadelphia, the COM
mittee consider American participa-
tion a most important factor. Sew
leral members of the executive COM
mittee know the principal cities of the
United States quite well and these
have stimulated Belgian interest in
America.
Vigorous propaganda work is being
carried on here to stimulate the some
what dormant national interest in
matters sportive, but everybody real
ICES the advantages accruing from an
international sporting pilgrimage to
Belgium, and every inducemept is be-
ing offered to attract ordinary war
zone visitors to the Olympic games.
While the location of this years games
is but geographical coincidence it hap
pens very fortunately for a country
which badly needs every means of
compensation for five years impover-
ishment through. war.
The arena of the Antwerp stadium
measures 575 feet in length by 302
feet broad. The width of the run
ming track at the. grand stand is 20
feet, and along the straight 20 feet.
A Ian ON the cinder track is i .322 feet