The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-07-02
Routing Is Sport of Mystery, Walter
 Camp Says
By WALTER CAMP Special Corr espondent of The Age Herald Copyright. 1929. by Tho Axe-Hcraids


 New York, July 1.-The great talk today in rowing circles is what hap pened to Cornell on the Hudson. The real truth Is that the race, as rowed at Poughkeepsie, was not the kind that the Ithacans like. Whether they used good judgment Is part of the question, but the real meat lies in the fact that there was no place at the front for crew of supermen who could stand n continued high beat.
 Rowing Is and always will be the sport of mystery. Theorists start in and argue for time in favor of a low, slow stroke. Then as crew with high beat comes to the front they begin to wobble in their opin- ions and retreat to matters of form. Then suddenly crew that violates all the canons that they are laying down, in some mysterious manner. makes the boat travel up to the head of the procession, and then tho theo- rists begin all over again.
 The writer today came across a clipping published a few years ago, recording that as result of exhaus- tive physical tests, Wisconsin had determined to abandon rowing al together, and that the navy would forbid any boat racing of over two miles Have the hearts of young men changed or what has happened? At any rate the navy's change Of heart has given us two glorious races on the Hudson and has set up three mile record that will be hard to beat.
 Middies Weren't Hurt
 Moreover, with one exception, the men who rowed to victory in the navy shell in 1921 were not sufficient ly injured by that three-mile struggle as not to be pretty sound, powerful organization a year later when they answered challenge after challenge from Cornell and finally outrowed that magnificent Washington eight in the last half mile. When the writer says. With the exception of one man." he means that seven out of the crew of eight rowed in both races.
 But the really great fact, which was demonstrated beyond peradyen- ture at Pougkeepsie this year, was that a crew to win in such class, must be able to raise the beat of its stroke and keep 1t at what has been con sidered high rate If they are to be In the hunt at all.
 Moreover. 1t has been proven that men of the right physique and right training can row high stroke. not only for two miles. but for four miles.
 Mystery of Rowing
 To revert once more to te mys- tery of rowing. Cornell used to come to the Hudson and win with crews which rowed fair part of the race at 2s to 30. and never above 32. A Vale of urft a high stroke close to 40, broke all the harbor records that had been made at New Haven by nearly a full minute. Pennsylvania, under Ellis work, sent a crew to Poughkeepsie. the oarsmen of which apparently row. ed the first part of the stroke in the air and were criticised before the race as having almost every fault known. and yet they finished first.
 The victory of the navy over Wash ington was almost parallel to that in one of the heats at Henley in 1914. when the Harvard crew won the blue ribbon event of the English rowing world. That heat was the one in which the Harvard crew defeated the German eight. The latter made it's bid by remarkable raising of the stroke in the last few hundred yards.
 The navy crew in the last stretch lat Poughkeepsie saw Washington them actually slip into the lead be- drive his men hard enough to hold them. But when he got going. that eight had the power. determination and high stroke to finally whip into submission the grand crew from Seattle