ime of 8 min. 3 sec. This victory was
all the more creditable from the fact that several of the Madison
'Varsity men had seats in the '97 boat. I have spoken of the rowing
which is done in the several schools mentioned to show that it is
possible for young men not yet in college to approximate the work
performed by older athletes. The Department has devoted space to the
description of the crews and their methods in the hope of encouraging
other institutions to take up the sport during the coming winter and
next spring. It is an excellent exercise, and a seat in the 'Varsity
boat is looked upon as the greatest athletic honor a college man may
attain, excepting, of course, a captaincy. It must be the same in every
school where rowing is practised, and the school that has a crew in the
spring is bound to have a better football team in the fall, for the
training done in the winter and the rowing done later develop new
material, and strengthen the older men.

The proposition to organize a National Interscholastic Athletic
Association, modelled upon the Inter-collegiate Association, made in
these columns in the early part of last spring, is looked upon favorably
not only by the schools and associations in this part of the country,
but also by the schools on the Pacific coast. In fact, the Westerners
have shown a much greater spirit of enterprise and sportsmanship in the
matter than have the managers of scholastic athletic interests in the
East. It is probable, however, that the apparent stagnation in this
quarter has been due to the summer vacation, and the consequent
cessation of school sports, and the absence from town of those who could
take hold of the scheme and put it through. Now that the fall term is
about to open, this matter promises to be taken up with the energy
required for such an undertaking, and all we need is the hearty
co-operation of the many interscholastic associations from every State
in the Union. On October 8th there will be a meeting of the New York
I.S.A.A., and I am assured that at that meeting the first steps towards
the formation of the National Interscholastic League will be taken.

Steps have already been taken in California toward joining the League as
soon as it shall be started, and the San Francisco newspapers are
already talking of it as though it were an accomplished fact. This is
all due to those lively young sportsmen of the Oakland High-School, who
are not only eager to enter a general