More Nurmi

Last week, Nurmi ran in Brooklyn, N. Y., was beaten, fixed a new world's record. The race was a 2,000-yard handicap, the occasion the annual indoor games of the Brooklyn College Club. When the pistol punched the air and Nurmi felt his lever-like legs beginning their incomparable trit-trot, he saw up the track three runners thrusting forward, all ahead of him, due to the one hundred yard handicaps. Through the scattered field he pumped, lap and lap; now there were only two, now only one runner ahead of him. That one was Gunnar Nilson, a rival Finn.

After him sped Nurmi, ever creeping closer, closer; each yard that narrowed between them represented a quarter-mile passed; so, sucking the air, they circled into the last lap. Nurmi pumped his levers faster, came pounding up 'behind Nilson; Nilson put down his head, pounded faster too. Three times Nurmi attempted to pass, three times sturdy Nilson refused to let him. Nilson broke the tape one step in front, which meant that Nurmi had finished the race only ninety-nine yards ahead of Nilson. Nurmi's time, 5 min. 4-5 sec., bettered by 6 2-5 seconds the old world's record for the distance.

In another race, Willie Ritola, "rival Finn," ran 5,000 metres in 14 min. 392-5 sec., thereby lowering the worlds' record of 14 min. 44 3-5 sec., made by Nurmi on Jan. 6.

At a dinner in the Manhattan house of Charles E. Mitchell, President of the National City Bank, Leonard Astrom, Finnish Minister of Finance, made a speech, presented to Mr. Mitchell the Order of the White Rose for sponsoring three Finnish loans. After the speech, the presentation, conversation, turned to Nurmi. "That mans' legs,' said Minister Astrom, "have been worth $10,000,000 to Finland." He said that Nurmi's prowess had made men interested in Finland* who might never else have heard of the country, had thus enormously strengthened Finland's credit, brought subscriptions to her loans.

*Finland's population is approximately that of Massachusetts, her size approximately that of California. The president, elected for 6 years, is Dr. Kaarlo Juho Stahlberg. Finland has three universities, seven languages, a mark the value of the French franc, a prohibition law. The season for outdoor athletics is short. Winter lasts from October to June, but the summer temperature--61DEG Fahrenheit--is kind to runners.