Evening Star Newspaper, June 22, 1930, Page 76

2 e - ——— THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, JUNE did not hesitate. ‘Fhe entire varsity crew was summarily dropped from the snuad, despite the nearness of the big race. And yet the Cornell varsity, with eight ncw oarstren pulling the sweeps, won the race that year! The second occurred in 1913. The inlet lead- ing to the boat house was being dredged that year and Courtney found it impossible to keep more than two crews at a time at the regular boat house. The others were quartered nearby. Some of the men assigned to the latter felt that they had been slighted by “the old man” and were rash enough to express themselves on the matter. In some way the coach heard of the grumbling and the squad waited for a bombshell. It came. Cornell's entire squad, 125 candidates, was dropped, the innocent along with the guilty, IT was thought that such a vigorous measure, entailing the training of a complete pew squad of candidates, would put Cornell entirely out of the running. But Courtney worked miracles with his new, untrained candidates. The regatta with Harvard was won, and the Ithacans placed second at Poughkeepsie. Such was Courtney’s genius! “The Old Man's” crew won the 1915 classic and finished second in the 1916 race, the last regatta at Poughkeepsie that he was to see. For the next year came the war, and with it a three-year suspension of college rowing. In 1920 the college crews again took te the water, but the intercollegiate regatta was not held on the Hudson. Instead, Comell, Syracuse, Columbia and Pennsylvania engaged in a re- gatta on Lake Cayuga, and in his last year of coaching, “Pop” Courtney saw his varsity bow to a well coached Orange boatload, which won by a length. However, the Red junior and freshman crews won their events. Just a few weeks afterward, the maker of champions died in harness. He was boating on his beloved Lake Cayuga when he was stricken, a victim of apoplexy. With his death, Cornell's glory faded. None of his successors has been able to turn out a crew that could match the famous ones he magically brought to annual perfection. There was really no magical Courtney system, no magic stroke that made his men invincible, but he was a stickler for form and trained his men so well that they had enough endurance to maintain perfect form through to the finish. That's what won the races; there was no necromancy about it. His 1901 crew was one of the best he ever trained. It set a record for the Poughkeepsie course that stood for 27 years. ‘Then, in 1928, California, Columbia and Wash- ington came along and smashed it t smithereens. Courtney trained his men well, but it was his dynamic personality that urged them on to do better than they knew. When he died bhe was succeeded by John Hoyle, who for years had been “The Old Man's” head rigger and boat builder and knew his system to a “t.” It was hoped that Hoyle would be zble to earry on the great tradition. But though C€ourtney’s system remained his personality was gone— and Cornell rowing entered upon its lean years. Hoyle was succeeded by “Pop” Lueder, and after several years of unsuccessful effort to stem the tide of defeat Lueder gave way to the genial Australian, Jim Wray. He had a successful record as a sculler, club coach and mentor of the Harvard navy behind him and his personality began to be felt as soon as he was well settled at Ithaca. Last season he developed three fine crews, the most remark- able being the junior varsity eight, which won a smashing victory in the championship three- mile race at Poughkeepsie. Coach Wray has builded well this year. Al- though his varsity bowed to the great Yale crew in 'their first regatta of the year on Lake Carnegie, they rowed a good race and finished ahead of Princeton. The following Saturday the Red oarsmen showed a surprising improve- ment and won all three of their races with Syracuse and Harvard in the annual Spring day regatta on Lake Cayuga. Rowing along evenly and at a comparatively low stroke they came from behind each time to win going away, and many who watched the big varsity combination win with ease remarked that it looked for all the world like another Courtney crew. Hod Shoemaker, who paced the juniors to their Poughkeepsie victory last June, is stroking the varsity now, and upon him Cornellians are pinning their hopes for success on Thurs- day. And all the old-timers are asking: Can Cornell come back? Can she shake the jinx that has trailed her so long? Can she regain the title she held with such monotonous regu- Jarity when “Pop” Courtney ruled the roost? OP the thousands who will be watching . Cornell through the last back-wrenching mile and thinking of the Courtney tradition there will be one man who was Courtney’s greatest rival on the river during the decades of Cornell’'s rowing fame. He is that indefati- gable octogenarian, Jim Ten Eyck, head coach @t Syracuse these many years. When Courtney didn't win the Poughkeepsie regatta, Ten Eyck @id. They seemed to have a monopoly on it Ten Eyck, who is now dean of all coaches, will not admit his age. But at Poughkeepsie Jast June a lifelong friend of his told me that Jim was close to 85. This may not be strictly accurate, but it shows which way the wind is blowing. Nevertheless, Ten Eyck could easily pass for 55 or 60. During his long reign at Syracuse Old Jim bhas literally worked wonders, considering the difficulties which have confronted him. Year after year he has set to work with a mere handful of men and he has always managed to turn out a smart, well trained squad which bas won its proportionate share of victories. Probebly the best place in the world to observe and correct the many faults that erop out in any crew is the narrow, cramped guar- ters in the stern of the shell, where the cox- swain holds forth. And that is where Ten Eyck can be found during the Spring training period. From the coxswain's precarious perch, directly opposite the stroke oar, every move of each oar is easily discernible, as are the actions of the sweep-swingers themselves. And, what ¥ just as important, the length of the all- $mportant “run” between strokes is accurately Selt and gauged. The “run” of a shell is the coasting between 1930. “Let’s go now! Keep it long! Keep it long!” strokes, and the amount of “run” which a crew gets is a big factor in that crew's sue- cess or failure. Many a boat race is won or lost by the difference in the run of the shells. As the oarsmen move forward along their sliding seats for the new stroke, they must gradually taper down their speed as they near the end of their slides, otherwise the coasting of the shell is checked. When eight men rush down fast and hard on their slides the sud- ds to throw the helmsman forward cupant of that post can soon find guilty. Thus does the picturesque Ten Eyck get the “feel” of each crew he coaches and thus does he help his men to polish up their technique and get a good run to their shell. His champion freshman crew last year had that ghostly run between strokes, and as it shot out from the shadows of the big bridge to take the lead from the others its run was increasing, while the others rapidly showed a tendency to check as the stroke was raised. In the coxwain’s seat, too, Ten Eyck can best instruct his men in handling their oars 50 that they will not “catch a crab,” that dreaded bugbear of every oarsman. Syracuse lost a bitter varsity race to Navy early last month when Milton Weiler, sophomore stroke of the Orange eight, “caught a crab” in the Jast quarter mile of the race and threw his Banishing Smoke Nuisance. ’I‘l-m smoke nuisance, which has brought about considerable agitation in this city, is only a shadow in the sky compared with the trouble that beset Salt Lake City prior to the enact- ment of the smoke abatement regulations of the Utah metropolis. After 10 years of campaign- ing under the direction of the United States Bureau of Mines and the University of Utah, it is estimated that the nuisance has been re- duced fully 90 per cent. ‘The location of Salt Lake City is such as to make the emission from industrial and domestic chimneys of large quantities of smoke a serious problem. The altitude of the city is 4,500 feet; it covers 30 square miles, and is protected on three sides with a high mountain wall 3,000 to 6,000 feet higher than the city. The wind velocity in the early morning and evening is quite low, being only about 6 miles an hour at a point 200 feet above the streets in the down- town section. Utah bituminous coal of high volatile con- tent i= the principal fuel. It is fairly hard, does not slack, contains little moisture and ash, and has fairly high calorific value. It smokes badly when improperly handled, and requires a large supply of secondary air for efficient com- bustion. The survey, conducted during the Winter months of 1919 and 1920, showed that indus- trial and large heating plants were responsible for 44.58 per cent of the smoke, residences for 2183 per cent, railroads for 18.38 per cent, small heating plants 9.04 per cent, and mis- cellanecus consumers 6.17 per cent. The smoke produced by large heating and industrial plants in the business district of the city was found to be the real backbone of the problem. The survey indicated that most of these plants were producing 35 per cent as much smoke as it was possible for them to produce, and the fact that in 1930 the plants produced Jess than 2 per cent of the possible volume of smoke shows what can be accomplished. A survey was made of all the worst plants, 30 that recommendations for improvement might be made when a smoke department was organ- ized A study was made of the domestic problem. Methods of firing were studied, and it was found to be entirely possible to reduce smoke from this class of equipment to a low minimum. Methods of starting fires were emphasized and instructions to domestic furnace operators for- mulated. In 1921 a department of smoke inspection and abatement was organized. An ordinance was drawn according to the plan recommended in the report made by the United States Bureau of Mines. It was patterned after those of other cities, and was designed to take care of local conditions as far as possible. It defined a vio- lation in terms of Ringleman chart densities, specifying a period exceeding one minute of No. 3 smoke, or a total of six minutes in any one hour, as constituting a violation. Rules governing the installation of new equip- ment covered the items of draft, size of com- bustion ehamber, stoking equipment, boiler room ventilation, minimum distances of boiler sur- faces to grates, visibility of top of chimney, and so forth. Ome thing worthy of note is the fact that new residence equipment was covered. The controlable factors are primarily comn- cerned with draft. Chimney size and construc- tion are specified, as well as position of furnace with respect to chimney. The furnace chimney must be independent and free from all other connections, such as water heaters, stoves and the like. i There is nothing in the ordinance specifying the design of ordinary domestic heating fur- naces. However, when the larger homes use furnaces having an equivalent rating of 25 boiler horsepower, such equipment i$ governed by the power and heating plant code, and the provisions therein must be met, A vigorous educational campaign was under- taken with all classes of fuel consumers. All of the large industrial and heating plants were instructed in regard to desirable mechanical changes. The railroads were asked to equip all engines with smoke prevention devices, and householders were instructed in regard to meth- ods for the burning of bituminous coal with a minimum amount of smoke. An interesting feature of the campaign was the construction of an cbservation tower, 270 feet high from the street, on top of a centrally located building. Telephone connections were made with about 1,300 plants, and whenever a chimney was seen to smoke the fireman was notified by telephone. Records were kept of each plant during the entire daylight period. A searchlight was installed to aid in regulating smoke during the evening hours. The following conclusions are drawn by the Bureau of Mines regarding the smoke abate- ment eampaign in Salt Lake City: ‘The smoke from large industrial and heating plants has been reduced at least 90 per cent. This reduction was effected by co-operative methods in improving plants and instructing firemen and through a system of rigid inspec- tion and control. An observation tower is very effective in a smoke abatement campaign. Small heating plants, heretofore neglected in similar smoke abatement campaigns, can suc- cessfully be converted into smokeless types at small cost. Every plant in the business and industrial section of the city is now in condi- tion to operate within the smoke ordinance. Railroad locometives now contribute little to the smoke nuisance. Cinder fall in the railroad district is still high, and its elimination is a problem. With present equipment and the present smoke ordinance and organization, the smoke from all plants, except residences, can be kept low enough not to create a smoke cloud. To be successful a smoke abatement cam- paign must be continuous. Inspection of heat- ing plants during the Summer months is neces- sary to keep these plants in proper condition. After 10 years of activity in smoke abatement, and in spite of the substantial reduction ef- fected, the smoke problem in Salt Lake City bhas not yet been completely solved. Permanent velief will depend on complete elimination of residence smoke. So long as any appreciable amount of smoke is made in the residence sec- tion a smoke cloud will be formed. crew off balance long enough for the mide shipmen to gain more than a boat length, You can rest assured that Ten Eyck has been doing some intensive coaching to prevent an- other such happening. “Catching a crab” is the oarsman's for the failure of the oar blade to um:fi in the water. When not dropped into the water at right angles at the start of a stroke, the blade, instead of biting cleanly, shthers lnntlnmleandtheosrhsndksvhmup sharply. Even the most polished oarsman may make the miscue. While a member of the Columbia squad at Poughkeepsie two seasons ago 1 saw Floyd Sanford, & freshman substitute, catapulted suddenly out of the shell during a racing start when he “caught a crab.” The oar caught him amidships and so rapidly was the boat moving that the surprised youth was well astern the rudder post when the coaching launch spied him. THREE years ago a fine Yale crew lost to 3 Harvard when one of the men in the waist of the shell made the same error mear the start of the final mile. By the time the shell ‘was righted and the rhythm re-established Harvard had gained so much that the Blue oarsmen were unable to catch up So Ten Eyck sits in the stern and tells his men, in effect, “No crabs today.” Ome of his maxims is to give a crew plenty of work. It is often jokingly said at rival training camps on the Hudson that the Syracuse squad rows to Albany and back (a distance of 60 miles each way) at least once a day. Be that as it may, the Orange crews never fade out of the picture toward the end of a hard race, no matter how hot the pace. So look out for Syracuse on race day. Ten Eyck is old, but he still knows a thing or two about racing, and though his crew has lost to the Navy and to Cornell it always improves 100 per cent at Poukhkeepsie. Another old man of the river who rose to yecing prominence just when Cornell and Courtney faded from the scene is “Pop™ Glendon, originator of the famed Glendon stroke and head coach of the midshipmen. Just before Courtney’s death, in 1920, “Pop’s™ Naval Academy crew swept through all oppoe sition to earn the right of representing this country in the Olympics. By defeating the ;amous Leander Club crew at Antwerp the avy won world championship honors, the “Old Man” came into his own. - “Pop” has a score to settle with the eham~ pion Columbia eight coached by his som, Rich QGlendon, and while the “Old Man” would & thousand times rather lose to Columbia than wmymmmmriv«.mmflm to halt the winning streak which the Blue and White has maintained at the expemse of the midshipmen for three years. It was while coaching club crews om the Charles River basin at Boston more than a quarter of a century ago that the elder Glen- don developed his now widely copied stroke, vmchnrene.slon.hy-b-cknthemdoi each pull. And with the success that has fole lowed the perfection of the method at the Naval Academy and at Columbia University there has been a rapid adoption of its essen- tials at nearly all rowing centers. This year “Pop” has a powerful crew that has won from every opponent except Colum- pla, and it is certain to be one of the faverites in the approaching classic. BILL HAINES, the rotund Englishman whe has charge of Massachusetts Teeh's rowing destinies, is another oldtimer of the river. He was the first professional coach at M. I. T, and each year since he took charge in 1920 he has shown progress. Now he has the finest Tech squad ever. After a slow start his varsity finally trimmed Harvard, an arch enemy, and pushed the first Navy erew to the limit in its second meeting with them. Pennsylvania has beaten Wisconsin and has in turn been beaten by Columbia and Navy. But nothing is certain at Poughkeepsie. And don’t forget the two Pacific Coast erews. There seems little to choose between them this year. Both have strong boats and Washington just managed to nose out the California Golden Bears in their annual race this Spring. They’re sure to give the East a grand old battle from the railroad bridge to the finish of that last long mile. “A mile to go and a chance to win,” the coxswain shouts. “All together, now—the stroke is going up!” The oarsmen grunt, groan, suck in short breaths between clenched teeth, straining every muscle in their beautifully developed backs, arms and shoulders as their oars thrash the water. Their eyes are dimmed by the sweat from their toiling at the sweeps and they hear nothing save the steady stream of commands from their coxswain, the rush of water and the rumble of the slides. Finally the welcome cry, “Last quarter , , , a hundred yards . . .” And the stroke goes up, up, up—somehow. “You're hitting 40 to the minute. . . . Keep it up. . . . Fifty yards, 2 - Give her 10 long ones. . . Yay-y-y-y. Let her run.” It's over! Government Films Abroad, UNCLI SAM'S own official mevie industry seems to be reaching considerable pro- portions. The Department of Agriculture films now cover 250 subjects, and are beginning to be in fairly strong demand from foreign govern- ments. The government of Uruguay, for imne stance, recently ordered 136 copies of official films, while other countries buying the films included Mexico, Cube, Nicaragua, Haiti, Ce- lombia, Peru, Argedtina, Brazil, Deminion of Canada, South Afriea, New South Wales, Bel- gium, Holland, Japam, Turkey, Germany and Soviet Union.