People: Rowing

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At Poughkeepsie; where rain made the Hudson gloomy and smooth, and at New London, where $45,000,000 worth of yachts were crowded into the mouth of the Thames, were rowed last week the two great rowing races of the year.

At Poughkeepsie Columbia was the favorite. Columbia had won its early season sprint races so easily. But there was a rumor that the boat had gone stale. Cornell, with baldheaded, 30-year-old Pete McManus in the waist of the shell and seven other heavy, experienced men bending to the barks of big-voiced little Coxswain Burke, had a splendid chance. Syracuse, with six veterans and the lightest crew in the race, was in the outside lane, least protected from the wind. Washington, having beaten California, seemed to be the best of the three Western crews. Wisconsin rows only in the Poughkeepsie race and this year's crew was said to be the best that had ever come from Madison. Navy, Penn and M. I. T. were not really considered to have a chance, except that any crew has a chance in a race two miles longer than the regattas that lead up to it.

The river stretched down from the starting line dark and smooth as a mirror, dimpled by the rain. The crews splashed away to a fair start, with the Navy ahead for a second, then Pennsylvania, then Washington. Washington kept the lead and pushed three lengths ahead of the Navy in the first mile. Coxswain Burke was keeping the Cornell boat close to Syracuse. The Columbia boat was going badly, rowing a high, laborious beat without much run between the strokes.

In the second mile, Navy pushed out from the field, trying to keep up with Washington while the other shells slipped back. For a time Washington kept on gaining, rowing 36 to Navy's 34, but by the end of the second mile Navy was only a length and a half behind, still rowing a lower beat of the long, stylized Glendon stroke. With a mile and a half to go, Navy was less than a length behind, still gaining. The Washington stroke, John Ginger, bothered by having to watch the Navy boat as well as Cornell, stepped up his stroke to 38. In the Cornell boat, Burke had stopped watching Syracuse and was telling his crew that the Navy would surely crack in a minute.

The Navy boat passed Washington at the start of the last mile and Coxswain Burke told his sweating men to row, row, row after that Navy shell. The last half mile was a wildly exciting match between the two, with Washington struggling to keep up with Cornell. The Navy stroke, Ray Hunter, could see both boats laboring along behind him. When Cornell began to gain he sent the Navy stroke up to 40 and kept it smooth across the finish, which he crossed to the absurdly disconsolate hooting of a destroyer's fog horn. Cornell was only a length behind, Washington third, the rest of the shells strung out up the river—California, Syracuse, Penn. Columbia, inexplicably ragged and ineffectual, finished seventh, just ahead of Wisconsin. M. I. T. was last.

Coach Richard ("Dick") Glendon of Navy, whose son, Richard ("Rich") Glendon Jr. coaches Columbia, had thought well of his crew but was satisfied to watch the race from the observation train. When it was over, pleased at a result which contradicted rumors that he was too old to function, he entrained with his son for their farm on Cape Cod, where he planned to spend the summer playing checkers.