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Show oo Read the ( las6itied Ads. THOUSANDS SEE RACES London Citizens Surge Over Thames to See Battle of Blues Putney, England. Mar. 1.,. The I "battle of the blues" for the aquatic honors of the year between eight -oared crews representing Oxford and Cambridge dark and light blue re- I Bpectlvelr attracted its usual thou- i sar.d6 of spectators todav. Ai dawn citizens of London began to sure over the bridges crprsatng the ( Thames between Putney and Mort Lake, waiting along the banks for the one Meeting glimpse of the ontest-ants. ontest-ants. The Oxford crew, half veterans, veter-ans, was the favorite It was heavier 'than has occupied a dark blue shell in many years. The Cambridge men. lighter and less experienced than thru-opponents, thru-opponents, nevertheless, showed j themselves fighters during their tialnlng and were declared toda to be In top form. They were pronounced pro-nounced by experts the best crew fiom the Cam in a deende For the flrtt time Id the annual rare between the two varsity crews, Cambridge Cam-bridge rowed in a center seated boat As In the past the majority of the oarsmen on both crews learned to handle an oar nt Eton, but the colonial colon-ial Rhodes scholars pre beginning to break into this last stronghold of I English sport Last year C. W, B. I.itMcJohn of Melbourne rowe,i seven and todav two Australians, H K Ward and C L, Ralllleu occupied thwarts in the Oxford shell. 'Ireat precautions were taken to prevent an outrage by militant suf-fi suf-fi igettes whlcb might mar th race Tht boat houses were watched with great vigilance throughout the night and women wore forbidden to stand on the bridges under which the racing rac-ing crews passed. The start was a 4 P.0 o'clock Cambridge took the lead at once and was half a length in front at the middle mid-dle distance. Oxford overhauled her lit the last quarter mile-. Tho course was 4 1-4 miles. The race was tet for the late ofter-nouu ofter-nouu owing to tide conditions Cambridge Cam-bridge won the toss for choice of station? At the starting pistol Cambridge Cam-bridge immediately took the lend and maintained it. pulling to stroke of t8 to the minute At the half mile Cambridge Cam-bridge was half a length ahead t the mile they were still leading and at Hammersmith bridge, about half the distance, they were a length In front. Oxford Gains. Oxford then began to get In slowl) Ai Barnes bridge, a quarter mile from tho finish. Cambridge was still lead- ing. Then the superior power of tbo Oxford crew carried them to the front and they won bj a bare quarter length Oxford has now won thlrt-nlne ! races and Cambridge thirty, while one was a dead heut |