Harvard will not send representatives to the Olympic Games at Berlin next year if the German government attempts to hinder the competition of Jewish entries, according to an announcement yesterday by William J. Bingham '16, Director of Athletics. As a member of the American Olympic committee, however, he expressed confidence that no such attempt would be made.
The statement was made after inquiry about the appeals for funds which appeared on the backs of the envelopes in which football ticket applications were mailed to some 35,000 Harvard graduates last week.
In former years, it has been the practice of the University to contribute $1,000 to the general fund but it is felt that such an expense is unjustified in a year when it has been found necessary to withdraw support from some of this regular athletic program. Hoping to obtain the money through the graduates, the H. A. A. decided to make the appeal on the envelopes.
Several persons have wondered why the University would support the games when there is a chance of possible discrimination but Bingham feels that the promise by Hitler to the American committee is a sufficient safeguard. Another reason is that the International amateur Athletic Federation awards the games to cities rather than countries and so the Chancellor would not hold direct control and all rules of competition must come from the Federation.
An interesting comparison with the German situation is found in the Olympic trials for the Los Angeles games when negroes were net permitted to participate in the semi-finals which were held in the South and the only colored entries qualified in Northern trials. There was no protest from any foreign delegation at that time, however.
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