The Olympics

"Let the flame of deep religious passion enkindle your souls, as this alone can maintain a high tradition for the Olympic Games and realize their sublime ideal."--Baron Pierre De Coubertin, at the opening of the IXth Olympiad in Amsterdam, Holland, last week. It was he who was chiefly responsible for the revival of modern Olympiades in 1896. "Once again it's America against the world."--Typical statement in U. S. newspapers. And so the IXth Olympiad opened in Amsterdam's red brick stadium in the presence of Prince Consort Henry and Master of Ceremonies Baron A. Schimmelpenninck Van der Oye of Doorn. There was a parade of 44 nations, 4,250 athletes, beginning with the Greeks and continuing alphabetically. Cuba was represented by a lone white man; Haiti by a lone Negro. Egyptians wore red fezzes; the rest walked in white pants and blue coats. The U. S. delegation, largest of all, received one of the smallest cheers. A crowd of 40,000 packed the stadium; 75,000 would have paid to get inside had there been room. It was not a smart crowd. The color and boisterousness, the mixture of bigwigs and hoodlums who attend prize fights and horse races were lacking. There was none of the suave enjoyment of a polo or lawn tennis crowd. The people at the IXth Olympiad resembled those who attend high school basketball games, minor league baseball games, county fairs, circus side shows, early season football games. Many of them can tell you, in split seconds, all the world's records that have been made during the last ten years. No Olympics are complete without a few preliminary squawks. Perhaps the reason is that, while the Olympics are supposed to be the essence of amateurism, there is always a suspicion that amateurism is being stretched to the outside limit of the law. Take the case of Charles Paddock, U. S. sprinter, whose amateur status and sportsmanship have long been questioned. The Sportsman, a magazine impeccable in taste, had damaging evidence against him (TIME, June, 11); a distinguished vice president of the American Olympic Committee resigned because of him; the British protested against him. Yet his simple denial of misbehavior and a look at the rule-book were sufficient to allow him to represent the U. S. at the IXth Olympiad. John Weissmuller, fast U. S. swimmer, untainted amateur, became the subject of a typical controversy among U. S. coaches. Should he devote all his efforts to the swimming events or should he drop one event and play water polo? Said burly Coach William Bachrach of the water polo team: "Without Weissmuller the water polo team is punk; with him the team has a chance against any team, and what's the use of paying $15,000 to bring the water polo team here unless you give them a real chance for the championship!" Coach Bachrach won his point and Weissmuller was put on the water polo team. The French athletes caused a flurry when they refused to participate in the opening parade because a Dutch official had refused to let them use the stadium for early practice and had also punched a French official in the nose. An apology from the Dutch committee, a good-will champagne toast settled that incident. The Germans, entering the Olympics for the first time since 1912, were popular with the crowd. Two charming Dutch girls said hello to Charles Davis, Fox Movietone cameraman, on the steps of the Amsterdam police headquarters before dawn. Then they pulled out a pistol and robbed him of cash, watch, chain, collar button. Col. Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Skippers Harry Pigeon of Los Angeles and Alain Gerbault of France, though not present, were awarded Olympic diplomas for meritorious individual sporting conduct. At Sloten, on a canal built 20 feet above the land, the University of California eight-oared crew, Olympic favorite, practised before astonished milkmaids, proud tourists. Dr. L. Clarence ("Bud") Houser, discus thrower of Los Angeles, was selected to take the Olympic oath for the entire U. S. team. One day, in practice, he tossed the discus 155 feet through a stage set for a Greek play. . . . The events: Sixteen-Pound Shot Put. Won by John Kuck of the U. S., 52 ft., 11/16 in., new world's record. Running High Jump. Won by Robert W. King of the U. S., 6 ft., 4 3/8 in. Ten-Thousand-Metre Run. Won by Paavo Nurmi of Finland, 30 min., 18 1/2 sec. Willie Ritola of Finland finished a scant yard behind Nurmi. One-Hundred-Metre Dash. Won by Percy Williams of Canada, 10 1/2 sec. Frank Wykoff, California schoolboy favorite, finished fourth. Sixteen-Pound Hammer Throw. Won by Patrick O'Callaghan of Ireland, 168 ft.,718 1/2 in. Four-Hundred-Metre Hurdles. Won by Lord David Burghley of Great Britain, 53 3/5 sec-