RECORD OF CONTESTS BETWEEN THE HALCYON AND SHATTUCK CREWS, ST. PAUL'S SCHOOL, CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Year.Date.Winner First-Crew Race.Time of Losing Crew.
1-Mile Course.
1871.June 7.Halcyon, 8 min. 32 sec.8 min. 53 sec.
1872.June 20.Shattuck, time not given.3 lengths.
1873.June 7.Halcyon, 8 min. 45 sec.1 length behind.
1¾-Mile Course.
1874.June 16.Halcyon, 10 min. 23 sec.11 min. 8 sec.
Course, 1 Mile and Return.
1875.June 9.Halcyon, 14 min. 6 sec.14 min. 50 sec.
1876.June 10.Halcyon, 14 min. 28 sec.15 min. 13¼ sec.
1877.June 14.Shattuck, 13 min. 40¼ sec.14 min. 48 sec.
1878.No races.
1879.June 11.Halcyon, 14 min. 2¼ sec.Not taken.
1880.June 3.Shattuck, 14 min. 25½ sec.14 min. 57 sec.
1881.June 2.Halcyon, 14 min. 10 sec.15 min. 1 sec.
1882.June 13.Halcyon, 13 min. 28½ sec.14 min. 4 sec.
[3]1883.June 12.Halcyon, 13 min. 13 sec.13 min. 38 sec.
1884.June 9.Shattuck, 12 min. 41 sec.13 min. 16 sec.
1885.May 25.Halcyon, 14 min. 7¼ sec.[4]Not taken.
1886.May 24.Shattuck, 12 min. 51 sec.12 min. 58½ sec.
1887.May 29.Shattuck, 12 min. 42 sec.12 min. 46-4/5 sec.
1888.June 8.Halcyon, 12 min. 32-2/5 sec.[5]Not taken.
1889.June 1.Shattuck, 13 min. 10¼ sec.Not taken.
1¾-Mile Straightaway.
1890.May 28.Halcyon, 9 min. 2½ sec.Not taken.
1½-Mile Straightaway.
[6]1891.May 27.Shattuck, 8 min. 25 sec.Not taken.
1892.May 28.Shattuck, 8 min. 29¾ sec.Not taken.
1893.May 29.Shattuck, 9 min. 19 sec.Not taken.
1894.June 10.Shattuck, time not given.Not taken.
1895.June 11.Shattuck, 9 min. 14½ sec.9 min. 30 sec.
1896.June 18.Halcyon, 8 min. 21 sec.8 min. 40 sec.
Year.Date.Winner Second-Crew Race.Winner Third-Crew Race.
1-Mile Course.
1871.June 7.No race.No race.
1872.June 20.No race.No race.
1873.June 7.No race.No race.
1¾-Mile Course.
1874.June 16.Halcyon, time not given.No race.
Course, 1 Mile and Return.
1875.June 9.Halcyon, 14 min. 48 sec.Halcyon.
1876.June 10.Halcyon, 15 min. 2¾ sec.No race.
1877.June 14.Shattuck, 14 min. 9¾ sec.Halcyon.
1878.No races.
1879.June 11.Shattuck, 14 min. 22 sec.Shattuck.
1880.June 3.Shattuck, 14 min. 15¼ sec.Shattuck.
1881.June 2.Shattuck, 14 min. 5 sec.No race.
1882.June 13.Halcyon, 15 min. 1 sec.Halcyon.
1883.June 12.Halcyon, 14 min. 39¾ sec.No race.
1884.June 9.Halcyon, 14 min. 45 sec.Halcyon.
1885.May 25.Shattuck, 15 min. 11 sec.No race.
1886.May 24.Shattuck, 14 min. 3 sec.No race.
1887.May 29.Halcyon, 13 min. 53 sec.No race.
1888.June 8.Halcyon, 13 min. 32½ sec.Shattuck.
1889.June 1.Halcyon, 14 min. 39½ sec.Halcyon.
1¾-Mile Straightaway.
1890.May 28.Shattuck, 9 min. 53 sec.Shattuck.
1½-Mile Straightaway.
1891.May 27.Shattuck, 9 min. 49-1/5 sec.Halcyon.
1892.May 28.Halcyon, 10 min. 10 sec.Halcyon.
1893.May 29.Halcyon, 10 min. 23 sec.Shattuck.
1894.June 10.Shattuck, 9 min. 25 sec.Halcyon.
1895.June 11.Halcyon, 10 min. 21 sec.Halcyon.
1896.June 18.Halcyon, 9 min. 23 sec.Shattuck.

For the sake of the record I append the times of the several crews, as officially announced:

First Crews.—Halcyons, first; time, 8 minutes 21 seconds. Shattucks, second; time, 8 minutes 40 seconds.

Second Crews.—Halcyons, first; time, 9 minutes 23 seconds. Shattucks, second; time, 9 minutes 45 seconds.

Third Crews.—Shattucks, first; time, 10 minutes 4 seconds, Halcyons, second; time, 10 minutes 30 seconds.

After the races were finished, the crowd returned from Lake Penacook to the school grounds, cheering the victorious crews all the way; and when the students reached the flag-pole on the lawn, they followed the usual custom of hoisting the club colors and the stroke oar of the winning crew. And after this had been done the young men of St. Paul's did a very nice thing. They presented to the coach of the crews a ticket to Henley and back—a present that was probably more grateful to that instructor than any other his pupils could have thought of.

By the number of letters I have received from readers of this Department in Connecticut, I judge that the discussion of Hartford High-School's claim to the title of "Champion School" has aroused considerable interest in that section of the country. I am glad that this is so, for I believe that a wide discussion of such questions always tends toward good.

But either I did not express myself clearly in the few paragraphs that the Department devoted at the time to the discussion of the question, or else some of my readers have failed to comprehend the drift of my argument. One valued correspondent writes as follows: "I was very much interested in the argument which recently appeared in Harper's Round Table about H.P.H.-S. claiming the National championship. You say that they would have to defeat in dual contests the principal schools of the country in order to claim it. According to that, Hartford did not win the championship of the Connecticut H.-S.A.A. this spring, because she did not defeat each one of the schools in single contests. According to that, there is no honor to be gained in winning the greatest number of points in an Association field-day. Then why not do away with these Associations! Your suggestion about holding sets of dual games is not only impracticable but also impossible for ascertaining which school is National champion."

What I said in this Department on July 7 was that the National Games were a contest among "teams from leagues," and not among "teams from schools," and that therefore the question of school supremacy did not enter into the discussion. Further, I added that the only way the title of "Champion School" could be secured by Hartford would be for her to have dual meets with all other schools of her class. I should have added that another way for Hartford to earn the title of "Champion School" would be to hold a large interscholastic field-day, at which teams representing individual schools—not teams representing leagues or associations—should compete.

At any track-athletic meeting where teams of athletes represent certain units, the team winning the greatest number of points becomes the victorious unit, and the athletes who aided in piling up these points, as representatives of that unit, are of no importance whatever so far as they can claim any relation to the other athletes who strove as representatives for the rival or defeated units. The Connecticut High-School A.A. is made up of a number of units—schools. Each unit sent a team to New Haven on June 6 to the annual field-meeting of the association. The athletes who came from the Hartford High-School piled up the greatest score: therefore the Hartford High-School is the champion of that association. It seems to me that this must be perfectly clear, and I do not understand how any one can logically deduce anything else.

But, supposing a majority of this point-winners for the Hartford High-School on that day were members of the class of '96—as they probably were—have they any claim to the title of "Champion Class" of the State or of the association? Certainly not. The games at New Haven were not "class" games; they were "school" games, and nobody knew or cared to what class the winning athletes belonged. In the same way it was of no importance whatever, so far as the championship was concerned, to what school the point-winners in the National Games belonged. These games were held among associations, and the association that scored the greatest number of points became the champion association for the year.

In the case of the Connecticut Association it happened that the greatest number of point-winners were members of the Hartford High-School. This may justly be a source of pride for Hartford, and for all the members of the High-School, but it is not a matter to interest the National Association, nor is it a matter for the National Association to take any cognizance of.

The same correspondent whom I have quoted above goes on to say: "Therefore I think that Hartford has just as much claim to the national championship as she has to the Connecticut H.-S.A.A. championship, and as Yale has to the Intercollegiate championship." I feel perfectly confident that as soon as he, and others, who are of his opinion at present, make clear to themselves the difference between a contest among schools and a contest among associations, they will not think that Hartford has any claim whatever. I am very glad, too, that my correspondent cited Yale in his comparison, for it helps me to make my argument even clearer.

Yale is a university made up of Yale College, the Sheffield Scientific School, the Yale Law School, the Yale Medical School, the Yale Art School, the Yale Divinity School, etc. On every Yale team that goes to the Intercollegiate games there are College men, Sheff men, and frequently men who are in the Medical School or other departments of the University.

It is not necessary to look over the records to find out if a case such as the one I am about to cite as an example ever actually happened, for the illustration is just as strong whether it ever occurred in fact or not. But suppose that the majority of the point-winners of the Yale team of 1896 were Sheff men. Would the Sheffield Scientific School, for that reason, have any grounds to claim any kind of a championship? Of course not. The Sheff men went down to Manhattan Field as members of Yale University, just as the H.P.H.-S. athletes went to the Columbia Oval as members of the Connecticut H.-S.A.A., and neither body has any right to set up any kind of a claim for individual prowess. If I have not yet succeeded in making myself clear to all my Connecticut readers, I hope they will let me hear from them further, and I will try it again.

Another point over which there has been considerable misunderstanding is the difference between an "Interscholastic" record and a "National Interscholastic" record. The Constitution of the N.I.S.A.A., in its Laws of Athletics, section 18, says that a national interscholastic record is any record made at the annual meeting of the N.I.S.A.A. A.A. An interscholastic record, on the other hand, is a record made by a student in any annual field-meeting of any league, club, or association. [The National Association's Constitution puts it, "any leagues, clubs, or associations of this association," but we cannot accept this as correct, because there are several interscholastic records held by associations not members of the national body.]

To be brief, however, a national interscholastic record is one made at the national games; an interscholastic record is one made at any interscholastic meeting. As soon as space enough avails, this Department will print the tables of national and interscholastic records—for the comparison will be an interesting one.

Speaking of errors, it is well to refer to one which crept into almost all of the reports of the performances of the National games. In the high jump this Department credited Sturtevant of Connecticut with first place, and Flournoy of Iowa with second place. The facts of the case were these: Flournoy and Sturtevant, the only contestants in the event, tied for first place at 5 ft. 8 in. Therefore they divided the points, each man taking four.

Then they chose to jump over again for the medals, instead of tossing a coin, as is usual—although this athletic method of deciding the question is by far the more sportsmanlike. On the jump-off Flournoy was unable to repeat his performance of 5 ft. 8 in., and could only clear 5 ft. 7 in., whereas Sturtevant again got over the bar at the higher point. This gave Sturtevant the first-place medal and Flournoy the second prize. But this jumping-off business had no effect whatever on the two associations' scores, and consequently Connecticut's figures should be 24 instead of 25, and Iowa's should be 7 instead of 6.

While speaking of records, let me say a word in connection with the mile-walk figures of Eells, of the Hotchkiss School, at the Connecticut games last June. The performance as recorded was 7 min. 11 sec., and I believe these figures to be correct. When the time was announced on the field at New Haven some one raised a cry that it should be 8 min. 11 sec., and a report that the official time-keepers had made an error was assiduously circulated.

A number of letters have come to this Department since that time asking if 7 min. 11 sec. were the correct figures for Eells's performance, and I have consequently been at some pains to make a careful investigation into the matter. Mr. E. G. Coy and Mr. C. E. Hammett, Principal and Physical Director, respectively, of the Hotchkiss School, assure me that Eells is capable of walking a mile in 7 min. 11 sec. They must have every means of knowing this, Mr. Hammett especially, having seen the young athlete train for months before he went to the Connecticut Interscholastics.

They assure me that the time, 7 min. 11 sec., as announced on the field that day, is correct, and they regret that any contrary report should have been circulated by some irresponsible enthusiast among the spectators. Considering these facts, Mr. Eells, in the opinion of this Department, is entitled to be considered the holder of the interscholastic record, and will be put down as such in the table soon to be printed.

The Graduate.