The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-07-16
Americans Ready To Cop EIusiOe Dapis Cup
Americas Cup Races Have Been Often Protested
Crimson GOnfalOn of Com plaint Has Been HQisted
 By Sportsmen
BY RICHARD MCCAIN NEA Service Sports Writer


 :, Newport, R. l., July 15-VesSels of Communistic nations are not the only boats which fly the red flag. It may surprise you to know that some of our very best aristocrats have sailed under the red flag.
 The aristocratS in question are those sporting gentlemen who go down to the sea in Americas Cup races.
 And the lag in question is a bit of crimson bunting known as the Red Flag of Protest, to be hauled out and hoisted by these sportsmen in case of a foul, or imagined foul, or imagined foul, by the rival yacht. It has so happened that in the 86 years of Americas Cup races they have hoisted the gonfalon, as we call it in the major leagues, almost as many times as they have hoisted a Genoa jib.
 Only during the days when long suffering old Sir Thomas Lipton was taking his whipping with broad grin have the Americas Cup races been free from red flags fiuttering in windy disputes.
 Three of these disagreements have been major disputes-the ominous James Ashburn dispute of 1870; and the Imaginable Lord Dunraven inves- tigation of 1895; and the bitter T. O. M. Sopwitf pout of 1884. One Almost Caused War
 The Ashbury case almost caused a war, coming at a time when Amer jeans didn't think much of a Brit isher who had anything to do with the sea because the states were still trying to collect those unsettled Ala bama claims growing out of the War with the Confederacy.
 MT. Ashbury, first of the chal- lengers, protested his way across the ocean, through the race, anc back across the ocean again. Amer jeans were it to be tied, and MT Ashbury, they thought, was fit to be hanged.
 He protested against being forced to race 9 sea-going schooner against the skimming American center. boards. He squawked about havint to race against the whole blarstec American Navy Gin those days there was no one boat selected as defender you raced against the club heeD And he questioned the fairness o1 the course.
 His long-winded arguments failed to help his yacht Cambria, and he lost the 1870 series. But he dlc manage to win : point-the follow. ing year his Livonia was obliged te race against only one defender, tho Columbia.
 Earl Charged Cheating
 The Dunraven dispute, 24 years later, was just as bitter. By his nu' merous complaints the Earl of Dun' raven succeeded in making himself the most hated Englishman since the collector of taxes in Boston port
 The Earl had been quite popular over here in 1893 when he made his first challenge but when he came back two years later he complained about interference by the spectators fleet, then he charged the defender MT. c. Oliver Iselin, cheated and hao more ballast than permitted.
 The American boat was examined and found to be within the law oy the referee, but Lord Dunraven went home and said that Iselin had re. moved the excess ballast in the deao of night after hearing that the gooo Lord was suspicious.
 The mortified New York Yacht Club immediately appointed com mittee to investigate the Earrs charges and this committee hele hearings that winter. MT. 1selin ex' plained that g had actually re- moved ballast in the dead of nlgn but only to take 1t ashore and have 1t cut down in half so that he coule stow it better in the hold.
 Both Protested in 1884 In the last series of races in l93' both skippers-Harold s. Vanderoll and Sopwith-waved the red nag. :.
 The Briton was in quite auf after the fourth race in particular complaining that Vanderbilt 1ale' to respond to an attempt to force luffing match, and also violated tn' rule of right of way at the start.
 The sixth race saw both sloop scooting across the finish line witi red flags a-fiutter. But both pro tests were later withdrawn.
 MT. Sopwith, however, fumet home giving the impression he'f never come back. A lot of the ex perts thought that he had not los very gracefully.