Fifty Years of Progress 1880-1930

A.A.A. JUBILEE SOUVENIR provide free bread, but only for those who will not or cannot find work. Replacing the circus of Roman times, there are pageants of many kinds to-day. Some are provided by Governments; such civic spectacles as the Lord Mayor's Show being a case in point, as are also the various displays organised by the fighting Services. A private rowing match between two bodies of students using eight-oared racing boats has also assumed the status of a free national pageant. Many other circus-sub– stitutes exist, but most of them are not free. They are in many cases commercial ventures, like professional football, and in others certain ex– penses are involved which have to be collected from the public by the promoting body. Athletic matches belong to the last class. It is interesting to notice that there is a tendency for the athletic match to take on some of the characteristics of pure pageantry. This is par– ticularly true on the Continent, where such matches are usually preceded by a march of the athletes round the arena-an act of pure display which serves no specifically athletic purpose. Also, in the Olympic Games (which have taken upon them something of the character of a team event, although they are essentially individual Championships), the first day is entirely devoted to a parade of the competitors, with brass bands, symbolic ritual, oath-taking, and the letting off of maroons, flocks of pigeons, and high spirits. The international matches are of great value in educating athletically the public of the countries in which they are held. The mere title of the meeting is a draw without specifying the performers taking part in it, with the result that a large number of promising but immature athletes are given the opportunity of seeing their own event competently performed. It is precept that is of importance, more especially in field events. The athlete of the younger generation must see the thing well done-the visual image will remain with him and he will be able to improve his own form in consequence. This is, unfortunately, hardly true with the track events. A keen but somewhat sluggish half-miler is unlikely to improve his per– formance by seeing the distance run in r min. 54 sec. The actual meeting, whether between England and France, England and Germany or the annual triangular match between England, Scotland and Ireland, can be considered from three points of view. The spectators or "crowd," most of whom have paid for admission, are important because their entry fees pay for the travelling expenses and entertainment of the teams. They are almost always enthusiastic, being stirred by patriotic feelings, if by nothing else. National differences are easily recognised. The English crowd has marked preferences for certain events and loves a close finish. It is almost entirely uneducated in the appreciation of field events, which are admittedly tedious in that the climax, if there is one, is obvious only to those who are in the immediate vicinity of the competitors. The Scottish crowd is not usually as large for these matches as in other countries, but the reason is often to be found in the loyalty of the supporters of football to the game of their choice. The 106