The Pedestrian's Record

the pedestrian's record. ii this state of things, steps were taken to lay out a path upon which men might run for honour and not for money ; no man was to compete with one who ran for money, if he did he became a professional, and forfeited all amateur prospects ; and in this position at the present time the two classes of pedestrians stand, a fence separates the two tracks, but the line of de­ marcation is sometimes as much on one side as the other. Amateurs have raced for money, and have in other ways not to be mentioned transgressed the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be varied to suit the convenience of amateur one day and profes­ sional the next, in the person of one and the same individual. Amateur legislation passed a vein of purification through the pedestrian ranks, but its hard and fast line has not assisted, in a national point of view, our best runners. Our foremost sprinters are professionals. No man on the cinder-track could beat Harry Hutchens at any distance from 50 to 440 yards. L. E. Myers, the American, could have made a race with him at the quarter, but wouldhave found himself behind at the finish, and there is no amateur capable of taking down Myers's colours over 440 yards. In F. J. K. Cross and E. H. Felling we have two fine runners, and at no distant date somethingbig will be recorded of them. Although the professionals own the fastest sprinters, the amateurs, as a body, at long distances, are ahead of the professionals; at any rate, they were before W. G. George elected to run W. Cummings for a large stake over one, four.