New-York tribune., 1922-05-14


Columbia was beaten in the Childs
timers, and by margin so narrow that
TO thousands OF spectators on both
shores Of the lake it looked like q dead
heat. The struggle was even more
thrilling than that memorable one Of
year ago when a Tiger varsity nosed
out the Navy. The distance was a mile
and three-q quarters. Pennsylvania s
i50-pound crew. entered ,n ne Chiids
Cup as the Quaker Varsity" rowcd
game race, but after leading for near
~ half of the distance succumbed to
,he killing pace and finished spent
and groggy third,
Princeton crews took the junior var
sity and freshman events after heart
breaking due}s with Joe Wright's fight
ing Quaker cights. Columbia ambled
IN a rather uninterestiug third in each
of these contests. Some 90 900 per-
sons lined the course and hundreds
witnessed the thrilling finishes from
grandstands built upon decks of canal
boats
Weather conditions could hardly
have been more perfect. The surface
Of the picturesque lake was a Shim-
mering mirror, fecked here and there
with shadowy catspaws OF air that blew
iazily out OF the southwest. .
Drive Comes Too Late
The Childs Cup has been the sub iect
Of competition since 1879. but it is
doubtful whether in all tho long his
tory Of the trophy it has been moro
sharply battled for. There could be no
doubt to-day that if the race had been
two miles instead Of one and three
quarters Jim Ricc's smooth machine
from the Harlem would have won. The
final drive of the New Workers came
too late-too late by one fickering
and hectic second. 1t was the ground
lost in the very early stages of the race
that lost the Chlds Cup for the Morn
ingside oarsmen.
Joe Wright, head coach at Pcnnsyl-
vania. shattered all well-worn prece-
dents this afternoon by sending in ~
lightweight crew as his varsity COM
bination. 1t may have been the high
pressure work of these wiry sprinters
IN the first mile that upset Columbias
calculations.
Stroked by Barnhart, known to his
Quaker pals as Joe the q oet" the
150-pound combination, started away
this afternoon in wild burst of sped.
Joe the Ghost weighs 1855 pounds and
stands well over six feet. At any con-
siderable distance it is difficult to dis
tinguish him from the mean oar ne
swings. What Joe did to-day in the
early stages of the Childs Cap seemed
10 hand Columbia and Princeton a
couple of dizzy spells.
The amazing burst of speed shook
Columbia off until open water showed
between the rapier-like bow Of the
good ship Bogue and the rudder of the
Penn. boat. Princeton too, fell back
until Wright's emaciated sprinters had
opened up lead of almost length.
The Pennsylvanians shot away to a
tempo of something like forty strokes
to the minute and kept up this ire
nendous pressure for nearly a quarter
of mile. Princeton made q game
effort to hold the Quakers in check and
came nearer than did Columbia to
matching the high beat
"Joe the Ghost" shot his shell into
an early lead. very much as he did
against Yales lightweights on the
Schuylkill month ago. The start was
good one, all of the twenty-four
blades appearing to catch the water
simultaneously. Columbia, in the toss
for positions, drew the east bank,
while Penn. was given the middle lane
and Princeton the west bank
Step watches caught the Quaker bea,
at Al to the minute at the getaway
Princeton registered 80 and Columbia
50. Jim Rices crew began Immediate
ly to lose ground, although its rhythm
was obviously smoother than that of
either of the other two shells. Sid
Milne, captain and stroke of the Tiger
varsity, fought gamely to held the pep
perry Philadelphians, but the work OF
She latter was too sharp and snappy.
The high beat, carried out with q good
teg drive and remarkably little splash
ing, drove the lighter boat steadily into
= commanding lead and it looked dur
ing the first half mile as though the
contes; was to be a cakewalk for
Wright's lightweights.
II was merely a question then of
whether the lanky and cadaverous oars
men from the Schuykil could main
lain the whitening pace they had set
themselves. Their admirers, who were
here in large and vociferous numbers
This afternoon, declared that they
would, but the unbiased critics were
skeptical.
1t was shortly after the Penn shell
had whirled past the half-mile flags
that the first signs of approaching col
lapsc began 10 appear. At this stage
of the Childs Cup battle it seemed as
though Columbia was hopelessly out of
It, Franklin Brodil, husky stroke Of
he Blue and W mite combination. was
having tough time of it hanging on
10 the tail OF the Princeton boat, and
rhere were occasions when open water
flashed between the shells.
Penn Stroke Is Lowered
Just after the half-mile mark was
passed the Penn stroke was lowered
IT fell like the mercury in a thermom-
eter before 3 winter blast. II slipped
to thirty-eight. and then to thirty-six,
and then to thirty four crushed down
under its own early vigor. Princeton.
meanwhile. had been bowling along
smoothly enough at thirty-six to the
minute. and Columbia was turning Oft
about thirty -four.
Inch by inch Mines Tigers crawled
mp on the willing Quakers, while the
staccato notes Of the coxswain in the
latter shell could be heard imploring
Joe the Ghost" TO do his stuff and
keep the stroke up. Joc's head was
wabbling, and he had no response to
the coxswain's prayers. His locks were
blowing in the wind, and his tongue
seemed TO sag out through parched
lips as he watched the bow OF the
Princeton boat stealing up by slow but
-emorseiess inches. Inc steady for
ward drive of the Tigers continued
-h,Nuoh tha second half m le and the