Fifty Years of Progress 1880-1930

A.A.A. JUBILEE SOUVENIR Britain was the only nation whose entire team finished. The unevenness of the roads and the square cobble stones of the Dutch highways tortured their feet and legs for miles. Payne and Wright were terribly lame, but the sight of Bignall was the most moving of all, because of his extreme youth and his fine spirit. For the last 14 miles of the race this boy suffered what must have been agony, but he refused to give in. At the finish he was deadly pale and semi-conscious. The other three heroes were Ferris, Harper, and Wood. Last Impressions.-The Press pour forth much criticism, mostly adverse, at the termination of each Olympic Games. These critics could never have moved amongst the athletes of the various nations, or they would not say or write the things they do. In the Stadium events there were no unfortunate incidents; men played the game hard and cleanly. Fencing, boxing, and wrestling, which take place outside the Stadium, are games involving physical contact between opponents, and quick thrusts and blows make a fair judgment difficult. In these events unfortunate inci– dents sometimes occur. But year by year men of all nations are learning to be chivalrous in victory and generous when defeated, and to abide by a referee's decision. In Germany last year I was talking to a group of German athletes, and one of them said, " We, in Germany, will always regard England as being the Motherland of Sport, and whether England wins or loses we shall look to her to show the world how to play the game in the right spirit. If England withdrew from the Olympic Games her prestige in the world of sport would fall." Not only should we lose our prestige, but we should lose the oppor– tunity of making friends with the youth of other nations, and learning from them those things that we have not taught ourselves. At the 1928 Games one could not fail to be impressed by the feeling of "bonhomie" amongst men ofall nationalities, and by the genuine pleasure shown whenever the British Empire won an event, particularly by the Germans, who applauded our wins with about as much enthusiasm as their own successes. Incidentally, the general opinion was that no team outshone the Germans in sportsmanship. The American team was a fine one, but as regards track events they did not shine. The strain of repeated " try-outs" before getting into the American team must be considerable, and leave a man unfit for any further good performance. Looking over the stern of the boat bound for the" Land of Hope and Glory," and watching the coast of Holland receding over the horizon, one thought filled our minds, and that was that where the youth of the world is gathered together in some common cause, such as sport, there all is well. Who knows but that one day an International League of Young Sportsmen may quell for ever the voices ofthe war lords.