The possibility of arranging an international boat race between the winners of the Oxford-Cambridge and the Harvard-Yale races has been a subject of animated discussion for several years. The matter has always come up late in the year, however, and for various reasons it has been impossible to complete negotiations for a race. The race between the crews of the English universities occurs much earlier in the year than our race does, and this would make it necessary for the English crew to keep in training for three months or more after their own race. On our side the obstacle has always been the item of expense.

Last year the Oxford crew did stay in training and would doubtless have accepted the challenge sent by Yale had Yale won the race at New London. This shows that the English crews will keep training in order to get a race. The only obstacle which remains therefore, has to do with the ways and means of sending an American crew to England. It was suggested last year that the winner of the Harvard-Yale race be sent to the other side at the joint expense of the two colleges. The suggestion seemed an eminently fair one then, and does now. The Yale News has brought it up editorially this fall, and asks pertinently, "why would it not be well for representatives of Yale and Harvard to confer on this matter early in the year, so as to have sufficient time, if the plan seems advisable to them, to enter into the necessary arrangements with Oxford and Cambridge?" Until now Harvard has not been for several years in a position to take any initiative in this matter. But it is now entirely proper for our boating authorities to open the correspondence with Yale on the subject, and it is to be hoped that they will take some action. An international race is a thing which all lovers of amateur athletics would like to see arranged, and it would undoubtedly do much for boating.

We should like to suggest further that in any discussion which may be held on this subject some of the graduates of Harvard and Yale be invited to take part.

Not only will their advice be helpful, but it will be absolutely necessary to interest the graduates in the plan if it is to be successfully carried out. Undergraduates are severely taxed to bear the expenses incident to the annual Harvard Yale race, and without help from the alumni they could never hope to raise money enough to send a crew to England and keep it in training there for a month or more.