DISGRACING THE SPORT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXIX, Issue 14610, 18 February 1908, Page 6

DISGRACING THE SPORT.

Tub letter we publish this morning commenting upon tho behaviour of some of the young men who travelled in the excursion train from tho regatta at Little River on Saturday evening does not make pleasant reading. The writer of the letter has given us permission to disclose his name to anyone who wishes to make inquiries concerning tho disagreeable incident, and therefore we feel at liberty to say in advance that he is a gentleman who would look with an indulgent eye upon a good deal of boisterous behaviour on such an occasion. "Boys will be boys," as he says, and they should, be given every reasonable opportunity to get rid of their superfluous spirits. But when young men proceed to shock tho tolerant occupants of a smoking carriage by using language that " would disgraco the stokehold of the worst ocean tramp visiting our shores," it is time for those in authority to express their emphatic disapproval. It is a pity that the offenders were not promptly reported to tho railway officials or the police, but this omission need not prevent the rowing clubs moving now. They cannot afford to have their good, names dragged in the dirt by empty-headed young hoodlums, whose sense of humour does not rise above the " grossly indecent songs, shocking obscenity and blasphemous parodies" mentioned by our. correspondent. If the public are left to believe that the clubs do not trouble themselves about things of this sort they will begin to look with suspicion upon every yo.ung man who follows rowing as a pastime. Tho authorities should hold a searching inquiry into the incident at once. It is whispered that some- of the oarsmen who made themselves conspicuous by their atrocious behaviour on tho way to town on Saturday evening wero not in a fit condition to travel when they joined the train at Little River, and if this is true it may help to explain why Christchureh has not been particularly successful in rowing races during the past year or two. In any case, a sport that is disgraced, by tho presence of such foul-mouthed blackguards as- those that provoked the protest from our correspondent stands in very grave danger of falling into disrepute with tho whole community.