PREPARATORY ORGANISATION FOR THE GAMES

by TIMOLEON J. PHILEMON Secretary of the Games (August 1896)

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The News that the International Athletic Congress which was convened in Paris had expressed the wish that the first International Olympic Games be held in Athens, found a favourable echo in Greece. Not only did it flatter the national pride, but many were not tardy to perceive, from the very beginning, that this event would become the producer of many benefits. The Government of 1894, however, supposing that it would be expected to assume the burden of the expenses of carrying it out, stubbornly opposed giving the consent of Greece to the expressed wish. Since the public Treasury had been declared in a state of bankruptcy, could it possibly assume expenses calculated at over half a million drachmas, for the execution of ceremonies and festivities, and deprive the creditors of the State and foreigners of their legitimate and incontestible rights. The objection was a serious and persuasive one.

But beyond the material contribution, which rightly it denied, there was none the less the question of moral support which the Government could extend to those who had undertaken to carry out the work by permitting them to realise the task through private collections and contributions of the necessary funds? The Government even refused this moral support, fearing that this might of necessity entail material support owing to the insufficiency of private initiative. It was maintained that it would be difficult to collect in time the necessary funds by private collections, while the issue of a lottery-bearing loan necessitated much time, in order to serve the purpose, which required considerable sums immediatelv and without the slightest delay.

Yet the idea of holding the Games in Athens had such a flattering resonance in the ears of the people and they so realised instinctively the potential benefits that might accrue from it, in spite of the strong and stubborn doubts put forward by some, that it was considered that a sudden refusal of the expressed wish would entail a consequent serious responsibility. The arrival of M. de Coubertin in Athens and his eloquent pleas for the wish of the Congress which had been convened in Paris, as also the patriotic activities of Mr. Demetrios Vikelas towards the politicians, the authorities, and beyond, persuaded a large number of persons and rallied the greater part of the Greek Press. They provided great support to those who from the outset had maintained that Greece ought to, at any sacrifice, agree to holding the first international Olympic Games in Athens. It was thus that a certain provisional Committee was formed consisting of a fair number of enthusiastic citizens, and especially of young people, whose objective was that they should undertake to carry out the project.>

This "Union", as it was called, proclaimed the Heir to the Greek Throne as its Honorary President.

Yet new difficulties were encountered in the progress of the first endeavours. Members of the original Committee, having changed their minds, drew up and submitted a memorandum to the Crown Prince, in which they set out the reason whereby they considered that the carrying out of the plan was impractible: because in the first place it was stated at least six hundred thousand drachmas would be required, which sum was considered impossible by private collection, or by any other method, whereas the time availnble until the carrying out of the Games was very short. The document was handed to the Crown Prince together with the declaration that those who signed it reigned from the task which had been, assigned to them.

The Crown Prince, however, had already formed His opinion in favour of granting the wish expressed in Paris. Answering those who had submitted the despondent declaration, He declared that He personally would undertake the actual presidency of the Committee which was formed to carry out the wish. Addressing Himself to those who had submitted the document He asked to know who among them insisted on resigning and who among them were prepared to withdraw their resignation.

This decision of the Crown Prince was truly the result of a happy inspiration, being worthz of His high rank and of the trust that the Greek people had in Him. He rightly believed that His voice would not remain without a successful echo in the hearts of the Greeks, and that henceforth the work could not but prosper. The events that followed fully justified the judgement of the eldest son of the King of the Hellenes and proved that He had thought and activated as the future leader of a living nation. Most of those who had resigned from the provisional Committee withdrew their resignation.

The first act of the Crown Prince was to replace gradually the members of the preceding Committee who had submitted their resignation and to constitute a Council of twelve members, chosen among the Committee or beyond it, destined to consult with him regarding what should be done as the occasions arose. Simultaneouslg the positions of General Secretary and General Treasurer were created.

The Crown Prince convoked the old members of the Union as wall as the new members in one of the halls of the Zappeion building on the 13th of January 1895, informed them of His definite decisions and outlined the programme for the activities of the Future for the achievement of the desired result. He declared the real commencement, of the activities of the "Carrying out in Athens of the work of the Committee of the International Olympic Games" by the following speech:

Gentlemen,

At the international athletic Congress which was convened last year in Paris and at which representatives of the societies and associations of most of the States of Europe and America took part, the idea was unanimously adopted that the future international Athletic Games be given the name of Olympic Games under which name these fertile reunions of free men have handed down an indelible remembrance to the Generations of mankind.

Thus, on the one hand we render a tribute of gratitude to the founders of the renowned Panhellenic Games which were held in Olympia, and on the other, by their revival, we extend their noble purpose towards a closer union of the civilised peoples.

The founders of the new international athletic Games, in order to make more clear their respect for the ancient Greek tradition voted that these also, as the ancient Greek ones, should he held every four years.

It is in this same spirit of gratitude that the wish of the International Athletic Congress of Paris was expressed, so that the Olympic Games of our times be held in that land in which they flourished for many long centuries and contributed so much to the progress of true civilisation. So that the celebration of the international athletic Games be surrounded with all the renown of the most glorious recollections of the past, this beloved city of ours of Athens, capital of the free parts of Greek lands, was nominated, by acclamation, as the lieu for the revival of the Olympic Games.

Greece, grateful and touched, learnt of this wish; it did not tard to realise and acknowledge that it was incumbent on the Greek nation to respond to this predilection of the civilised world. With one voice all, in so far as each could, by word or more tangible expression, decided that willingly our country would respond to the wish of the International Athletic Congress. The wish was also added that the execution of this decision be placed under my Presidency.

In no wise do I question the not flourishing state of our finances at the present moment. Greece, only just recovering from the glorious ruins which have accumulated over long centuries, and the Athenians more especially, cannot provide all the facilities and comforts, nor even the exterior splendour, such as the great and enormous capitals can offer for International Fairs. Very often, however, questions are put to which, once they have been set more concretely, there is only one single and permissible answer. Such I consider the question that has been placed before us, through the decision of the International Athletic Congress of Paris. It was incumbent on us to answer without reservation to this expressed wish, and to show by our works that we understand the most high meaning of international athletic Games and that we have neither become forgetful of the beloved traditions of ancient Greece, nor will we honour them less than those of other nations.

Also I have the firm and unshakable belief, that, in spite of the insufficiency of funds of, which we can dispose for the more ostentatious hospitality of the athletes who will visit us, these certainly will carry with them on their return to their homes good impressions. We have progress to show which is neither small nor restricted in all sections of the common work of mankind and these are all the more worthy of honour since they were carried out in the face of all manner of impediments and unpleasant circumstances. Those who are to come to Greece for the Games will be welcomed with a hearty and flawless hospitality rivaling the purety of its skies, and both of these ape capable of replacing deficiencies in other directions in the minds of persons of intellectual culture such as those of our future visitors. Hence the size of the morall benefit through the holding of the Olympic Games in Athens is indisputable.

Appreciating as I should, all these things, and persuaded that the opinion for willing acceptance of the wish of the International Athletic Congress of Paris was unbiased, I have acceded to the request submitted to me that I should preside at the work of carrving out this wish. I also consider it fortunate that necessity, so to speak, has brought about a turn of events so that this work does not bear an exclusively official character, but should he the outcome of the endeavours of all Greeks.

To this effect I have completed the originally formed Committee which is to supervise the carrying out of the work, and from its members I have constituted a Council of twelve, I have entrusted the duties of Secretary General to one of the Members to whom I have attached four of the younger Members of the Committee as secretaries.

The guild of Arts and Crafts of Athens, which has so willingly expressed its desire to contribute to the success of the International Olympic Games, will be invited to nominate a representative on the Committee.

I have invited you, Gentlemen, to to-day's gathering, in order that I should express to you My pleasure at the willingness which you showed in accepting My election and so that I could assure you of the conviction that this willingness inspires me regarding the fruition of the work.

The Council of Twelve Members under My Presidency has as its principal mission to deliberate on the measures that it considers most suitable for collecting the necessary funds for covering the expenses. It seems to Me that care should be taken from the outset so that the share in the exprenses bears the character of an universal contribution.

So that the work of the Commitee be facilliated I will later subdivide it into several others so that each of these can be entrusted with specific work. If required further members will be added to the Committee or to the sub-committees.

The council will consider all the proposals submitted to it by the Committee or by those sub-Committees dealing with the successful completion of the work.

Above all I place My trust in the acknowledged pride and in the pure and sincere worship of Greeks everywhere in the glorious Greek tradition of antiquity whereby the work that we are undertaking will be brought to a happy conclusion. None the less I count on your enlightened activity and good will for completing the work started so auspiciously. Truly the time available up to the carrying out of the Games is not great, so as to allow postponements or delays. This we all appreciate, and so we must all be careful not to waste time and proceed as quickly as possible for better success of our work.

Upon this I proclaim the beginning of your tasks.

The whole bearing of this speech by the Crown Prince was immediately understood.

Before the Council got down to work the Crown Prince added to the Committee a certain number of members whose specialised knowledge in athletic matters and gymnastics, or whose competence in other connex matters could prove of very great utility for the proposed objective. Completing the work, the Crown Prince set up special sub-Committees, and entrusted to each one of them the preparatory study for each of the events.

In accordance with the indications of the Congress of Paris for the programme for the Games to be celebrated, the following specialised committees were constituted: that for the athletic events, track and field and gymnastic exercises, that for the shooting events, that for the nautical events, that for the arms and fencing contests, that for the cycle competitions. A special committee for the equestrian events was not set up since, though such events were scheduled in the Paris programme, it was considered that the carying out of such Games was not practicable in Greece, not only because the country had not acquired a breed of horses of its own, but because the time remaining till the beginning of the Games was insufficient to construct a suitable hippodrome with suitable ancilliary establisments which such events require, apart from which the great monetary sums necessary for such undertakings were entirely lacking. The Council gave its opinion, of which the Crown Prince approved, that the instructions regarding equestrian events should be cancelled for the 1896 Games, since, according to the text of the Congress of Paris, the country in which each International Olympic Games was due to he held could eliminate such events from the general programme, which it might not be able to carry out successfully, or to add others, not recognised, in the general programme drawn up by the Congress.

Yet in addition to the Special Committees, which the programme of the International Congress of Paris entailed, there were three others which were appointed, and which circumstances dictated in so far As Greece was concerned. These three committees were : that for the preparation of the Greek athletes; that for the reception in Athens of competitors and visitors; and that for the renovation of the Panathenian stadium.

The setting up of these committees was absolutely essential since Athletics and Gymnastics had not been sufficienty developed in Greece so that they could rely only on the gymnastic Clubs as regards their hopes for a respectable presentation of the Greeks in international athletic contest. Unity was required for the general activities, yet care for the details. The city of Athens, both through its limited size and also due to its lack of abundant funds such as existed in the other great cities of the world for the reception in comfort of a large number of visitors, did not inspire confidence that due care could be extended to its visitors. It was none the less necessary that the study and finding of means should be entrusted to a special committee. Finally it was recognised, right from the beginning that the Panathenian stadium was destined to become the centre of the festivities and that since it was not in proper shape and totally deficient, its study must be entrusted to experts so that it should be renovated and made more suitable for the Games, and that the plans and the budget should be drawn up.

The constituted Committees were convened to a meeting at the Zappeion on the 1st (13th) February 1895. The Crown Prince was accompanied by His two brothers, Princes George and Nicholas, who had already been included by Him as members, the one to the nautical sports Committee and the other to the Rifle Range special Committee. He made known to those convened the constitution of the organisation under His leadership and the future work, explaining shortly the duties which each committee would have to carry out, warmly beseeching that the work of the Committees should start at once actively. He asked that at that very meeting the committees proceed to their constitution, each electing its President and its Secretary. Indeed this practical recommendation was adopted and carried out before the conclusion of the meeting and the Crown Prince was able to announce from His chair, officially, the result of the elections and the final constitution of the committees.

And this was well done and all this was right. But undoubtedly this was but the trumpet calling to work; it could not march courageously forward without ample funds. Whereas the work admittedly required much money, only small amounts had been collected, which proved the willingness and patriotism of the subscribers, but not sufficient for carrying out the works which were to bear witness to the visitors that Greece had realised the size of the honour granted to her, and was worthy of the trust of the civilised world. First of all henceforth the Twelve Member Council under the Presidency of the Crown Prince, had to consider how it could collect funds and as much as possible. It devoted itself to this task from the start. Its opinions, which were approved by the Crown Prince, in time were crowned, if not in all aspects, but anyhow in part, with full success, and henceforth the successful holding of the Games was assured.

Once it was acknowledged that, owing to the difficulties to which the State had reached, as against its foreign creditors, the Public Treasury had to abstain from all help in the funds for the Olympic Games, there remained but one method. This was the appeal to the individual contribution by the Greeks, within and outside Greece. The past indicated reason for every hope that in this case too if the principal objective was suitably announced to the Greeks regarding this collection, the appeal would be successful. This would be in spite of the great difficulties that had to be faced owing to the financial crisis of the moment and the numerous appeals that had been made to the public for the victims of the earthquakes and for other calamities of which Greece had just become the stage. None the less the Twelve-Member Council, on behalf of and in the name of the Crown Prince made a warm appeal to Greeks everywhere. As regards the Greeks at home within Greece, committees for the collection of funds were to be founded by the Municipal Authorities and the diplomatic and consular agencies of Greece abroad were to be entrusted with the constitution of committees within the sphere of their jurisdiction. It was stringently prohibited that funds should be contributed by non-Greek citizens.

The expectations of the Twelve-Member Council were not all achieved. Many wealthy persons turned a deaf ear to the appeal, while others stubborny turned down the appeal declaring that the matter was comic and destined to failure and the money would be spent in vain.

None the less taking into consideration the difficulties of the times and the universal mistrust for all manner of reasons which impressed some and lack of confidence in the assertion that the Games would take place and succeed, the sums individually collected inside and outside Greece were generous, almost three times in fact the amount originally reckoned by those submitting the budget as being sufficient to cover the necessary expenses for holding the Games. The sums collected from private contributions, including those from public and municipal accounts, according to a note of the central account, totalled three hundred and thirty two thousand drachmas (332,756). At the beginning the funds necessary for carrying out the Games, and the activities and celebrations were budgeted as requiring only one hundred and fifty thousand drachmas!

Yet at the beginning not even this sum existed in the account, and it was only gradually and in instalments that it was collected. Yet it was necessary that there should be guaranteed sums from the beginning so that essential works could be carried out. Especially it was difficult to make it understood that the Panathenian stadium would be the principal field of the Games, the Altis of Athens, the centre around which the whole celebrations would pivot, and it was in this direction that those who had undertaken the responsibility for the direction of the Games should turn their main attention. The stadium, however, was completely deserted, a shapeless field, a place full of stones, thistles and rubbish, gathered together on all sides, hardly having the skeleton shape, but a shapeless bulk. Even those who had not the ghost of an idea of technical matters could plainly understand that it was necessary for the stadium to be repaired, even provisionally, and that to satisfy the needs of important athletic and gymnastic contests, a generous sum must needs be made available. The Committee for the renovation of the Panathenian Stadium, in spite of all the reduction of expenses that it decided as regards the plans of its member, the architect Anastassios G. Metaxas, could not contrive to reduce the essential budget below 200,000 drachmas. Yet even supposing that the sum might, be covered by personal subscriptions, it could be of course not collected so quickly as to serve its purpose.

In view of the difficulty of the times some sponsored the notion that if the idea was put to that man who on so many occasions had come to the help of the country and for which he had already acquired such fame, to the generous benefactor George Averoff, that the appeal would not be in vain. This man who had already, as his own expense, erected the Athens Polytechnic, the military academy, the juvenile prisons, and at Alexandria the High School and the girls institution, this citizen, so noble and disinterested could not possibly remain unmoved to the appeal of renovating the Panathtenian Stadium. One of the Members of the Council of Twelve, Mr. George C. Rhomas, proposed that the General Secretary of the Olympic Games be sent for this to Alexandria. This proposal was half-heartedly supported by some of the members, but vigorously oppossed by others. Yet the Crown Prince, presiding at the Council realised the value of the proposal, and without any further hesitation and in spite of the indifference or antagonism of the Twelve Member Council, summing up the proposal at its poper value, and considering that the conditions of the proposal were not properly understood, ordered, as was in His jurisdiction, that the Secretary General should proceed to Alexandria, carrying a letter from Himself to George Averoff, in which the first offspring of the Dynasty of Athens explained the matter and making appeal to his patriotism.

And in this matter the Crown Prince was successful. The great donor, so soon as he had read the Crown Prince's letter to him, understood its most Greek meaning, and the true grandeur of the request put to him, and, with all the sweetness and unrestricted willingness and grace, which inspire him in the carrying out of a national undertaking, he stated that he would undertake, at his own expense, the renovation of the Panathenian Stadium. After a few days he approved the plans for the renovation elaborated by the young architect Anastassios Metaxas, which had already been examined by the Special Committee for the renovation of the Stadium, and had been approved by the Crown Prince. The budget of the expenses was reckoned at first at 585,000 drachmas, but later raised to 920,000 drachmas, owing to expenses for the completion of the work, the addition of which was shown to be essential, as the work progressed. Thus this greatest impediment was eliminated.

George Averoff was greeted by all Hellenism as the principal establisher of the Olympic Games. He proved himself even more happy than Herodes Atticus, renovating the Panathenian stadium, or rather he revived the dust into life, as had been done seventeen centuries earlier. He was to deliver it not to a conqueror and lord of Greece, but to Him whom the free votes of Greece had proclaimed the representative of the Nation, to the King of free Greece, who was to receive the respect of the representatives of the nations of the world, and to declare the inauguration of the first international Olympic Games, under the free skies of the Motherland.

The Council of Twelve, at the proposal of the Crown Prince, voted that from the funds of the Olympic Games the necessary sum be voted for the erection of a statue of George Averoff in front of the stadium, in memory of his proud patriotism, and as a declaration of due gratitude for the noble generosity. The statue, sculpted by the professor of sculpture of the Polytechnic, George Broutos, was unveiled by the Crown Prince in the presence of His two brothers, Princes George and Nicholas, and all the officials of State, and a large throng of Greeks and foreigners, on the 24th of March, on the eve of the beginning of the Games, while acclamations both sincere and enthusiastic echoed on the hills around the stadium in favour of him who was rendering to life, and to their ancient glory under such favourable conditions, lieus which for many centuries had been condemned to mourning and silence.

Yet if the generosity of a single citizen's noble spirit brought the Stadium back to life and guaranteed the triumph of the athletic and gymnastic contests, there still remained the need that other institutions should be erected which were totally lacking. It was imperative that these too should be erected, since in the programme of the Olympic Games there were also included shooting events as also cycle races, and also nautical contests and outdoor games. There existed neither a rifle range, a cycle track, nor the means for preparing nautical contests nor for outdoor games, even with shortcomings.

Attempts were then made, as had been the case for George Averoff, to approach certain persons enjoying great fortunes, and persuade them to undertake, as he had done for the stadium, the construction of the rifle range or the cycle track, but these were not successful. The Committee of the Games was not, however, discouraged and proceeded to the work, full of faith in the fact that they would be completed. They already had in hand, from private contributions, a sum which was not to be disdained, while donations continued to pour into the account of the Games, even up to the last moment. Although the Committee had not the necessary funds in hand for the erection of the two constructions, the rifle range and the cycle track, placed its expectations on the revenue that would be forthconing from the sale of tickets of the seats at the Games, sale of commemorative medallions, and the assurance through the passing of two laws that the sum of 400,000 drachmas would be available from the receipts of the commemorative stamps.

The expectations of the Committee were not disappointed in this too. The revenue from the sale of the tickets, in spite of the fact that events in the stadium were confined to five instead of six days, as they had been originally decided, and although the nautical events were not held, and although there were some deficiencies due to inexperience, in carrying out the Games, abuses which the Treasurer Mr. Paul Skouses, in spite of all the zeal he employed, could not entirely eradicate, the revenue from the tickets and the sale of the medals, reached about 200,000 drachmas. Through this sum and the guaranteed 400,000 by the Government, two establishments were erected, the most perfect of their kind, the Rifle Range in Kallithea, and the Cycle Track close to the grave of Karaiskakis in New Phaliron. The jetties for the nautical sports were also constructed, the boat houses, and other minor works, relative to the nautical sports and outdoor Games.

The period from the start of the work until the beginning of the Games was truly most short, and this, added to the fact that there were no funds immediately available, shook the confidence of many as to the timely completion of the work and the successful carrying out of the Games. The Greek press declared the lack of the public confidence, in sentences which often expressed hopelessness. Fortunately the optimists were justified in this too. Through the persistent and continuous supervision of the Crown Prince, and the ceaseless activity shown by the engineers, architects, contractors, and the various experts on the special committees, the works necessary for the execution of the Games, were completed on the eve of the great historical festivity, and thus the Stadium, the Rifle Range and the Cycle Track were indeed sights or grandeur during the holding of the Games.

The optimistic expectations were also justified entirely also under the heading of the Greek athletes. Thanks to the tireless and understanding work of the Committee for the Preparation of Greek Athletes, Greece was able to be represented worthily at the Games, winning athletic and gymnastic prizes more than had been anticipated, honouring their wit and dexterity so that after more scientific and intensive training Greece can reckon, without doubt, in a broader range of victories in future Games.

In spite of the difficulties regarding which many rumours had been disseminated in the minds of both Greeks and foreigners, which reduced very much the number of the latter visitors, the voyage of the visitors was comfortable, and the sojourn in Athens easy and pleasant. The Members of the Special Committee of Reception worked with understanding and indeed devoted the most strenuous efforts. It is particularly to this Special Committee that the organisation of the festivities is due, as also of the torch processions, and the decoration of the City of Athens, and especially during the ten days of the Games the nightly illumination of the two main Squares of Constitution Square and Concord(Omonia) Square and the Stadium Street joining them, by gas lit arcs. Truly it was a magical sight along Stadium street from the Concord Square to the other end at Constitution Square, which appeared as an endless illuminated arcade. The two Squares were equally magnificently illuminated. It is also due to this Committee that the overseas visitors carried away with them the best impressions of Greek hospitality. The members of this Committee had taken care that the athletes coming from abroad should be welcomed on their entry to Athens, with all due ceremony and with every indication which would assure them of the sentiments of pleasure and fraternity of the inhabitants of Athens who received them.

The combined efforts of all those who had been invited to participate in the organisation of the great festivities had, as a result, that, at the appointed day, everything was ready, prepared as successfully as possible. Without exaggeration the accomplished work has characterised as a miracle since fine establishments were erected from their foundations, in the very shortest time. With a comparatively small expenditure other preparations were also made, requiring naturally special comprehension and activity, in such a way so that the Greek capital could appear to the visitors superior to that which they might have expected. Before completing, however, this recital of the preparations and the preliminaries of the Games, an enumeration which is unfortunately bereft of colourfulness and of all the details which should enliven it, we think that we would be failing in a duty if we did not mention here, on behalf of the Olympic Games Committee, the gratitude which it feels towards the Greek Government for the generous collaboration that it was able to bring to bear, and thanks to which its endeavours were able to be crowned with success.

Truly, the Greek Government, though materially it was impossible for it to do so, could not provide an immediate contribution from the Treasury for the preparatory work of the Games. It none the less offered its moral support, without reserve, to those who were working for the success of the Games, by efficiently encouraging them, and eliminating without delay all obstacles which might arise, from the narrow interpretation of regulations. Even more, through legislation voted in Parliament and sponsored by the Government a generous financial support was provided for the work of the Games, without a specific burden on the public Treasury or upset of the State finances. By law, tax on the tickets for the Games,devoted to special institutions, was exempt. By another law, the issue of a special series of commemorative stamps of the Olympic Games being accepted, the great matter of the sum of four hundred thousand drachmas was assured. Thus the State instead of suffering a loss from the commemorative stamps, had a revenue by no means to be despised and was able to extend a saving help to the national effort.

Not as many foreign athletes as was expected did not take part in the Games. Unfortunately misunderstandings arising suddenly and even at almost the last moment, would have cancelled the arrival of athletes from Germany who were on the way. The plenipotentiary Minister of Greece in Berlin, Mr. Cleon Rengabe by an understanding and skilful activity was able to convert an unfavourable into a favourable public opinion. But in this he had the support of two powerful protectors, that of the Dowager Empress and of Prince Holenhole, son of the Chancellor of the German Empire. To this must be added the enthusiastic activity of the Secretary General of the German Committee, Dr. Gebhardt, who supported the efforts of the Greek representative with all his force.

The Hungarian visiting athletes, and those from America, more numerous than of any other country, with the exception of Germany, figured brilliantly in the Games and gave them splendour. They rightly received all honours and expression of affection from the Greeks.

But the crowning splendour was given to the Games by the Greek people. The virtues of the simple, spontaneous and enthusiastic hospitality, of which the President Crown Prince had spoken, in His inaugural speech, which according to Him, was jointy with the resplendant Greek skies of Greece to replace the other material deficiencies, were developed and shone in all their majesty. The allien spectators were all amazed, at the concentration of one hundred and fifty thousand people in the narrowest confines, intermingled with the ceaseless movement of horses and carriages, without the slighlest disorder or confusion being noticed anywhere, without even the shadow of a quarrel or violence, or without even a handkerchief being lost. Indeed the whole of the police measures proved wise and well thought out and carried out according precisely with the decisions of the Colonel of Engineers, Nicholas K. Metaxas's decisions, who had been appointed by the Crown Prince as Supreme Supervisor and Director of police for the Games, as also due to Officers, N.C.Os and the ranks under his orders, together with the supervision of the Athens Police Force. But all these would have been of no avail, nor would the unique phenomenon of the continuously maintained order, not disturbed even for a single moment, have been possible, if it had not been for the fact that the crowds of Athens who foregathered outside the Stadium for ten days, had not differed from those in any other great City of the World. In Athens, as also in the whole of Greece, the <> is absent, that which the ancients called the Demos, or Ochlos, or Thetas, and which the Romans called Plebem, the English Mob, the French Populace, the Germans Poebel, the Italians Populaccio, or Plepaglia, the Spaniards Populas, Populacho, Vulgo. All the Greeks honour themselves with their national name. They do not bear social and irreconcilable national passions against each other which provoke dissensions, as a result of a more even distribution of property, one does not meet the class of disinherited without home and hearth. All Greeks are conscious that they bear the responsibility of the national honour. That is why the poorest immediately becomes the policeman and guardian of this honour. This explains the unique phenomenon whereby the crowds of teeming citizens in Athens, for a whole ten days, and to the highest degree, called upon the greatest admiration of the visitors and gave the crown of success for the unique festivities of the last days of the month of March and of the beginning of April of the year 1896.

In concluding this short and curtailed, and in consequence this not complete report on the preparation and carrying out of the first international Olympic Games in Athens, I express, as Secretary General, my full and complete gratitude to those who furnished assistance to my work with enthusiastic understanding: to the youthful secretaries, George Melas, George Streit, Constatine Manos, and Alexander Mercatis, and to the assistant secretary Nicholas Zachariou.

I owe it as my most profound duty to express my deepest gratitude to the princely President of the Committee, the Crown Prince, for the confidence and trust he showed to me, to H. M. The King of the Hellenes, for His flattering words in His toast at the historic banquet at the Palace on the 29th of March, as also to my colleagues of old, the journalists of Greece and abroad, under whose indulgent criticisms I was able to work.

The splendour of the first International Olympic Games, held this year in Athens, and the affection that they engendered throughout all Hellenism for the athletics, witness that the same tree and independent blood of antiquity flows to day in the veins of the inhabitants of Greece, give every assurance, that at the next future Olympic Games, also in this self same Athens, will be crowned with greater success, and the number of Greek Olympic victors, will be greater than in this year, soon nearing its end.

Written in Athens, during the month of August 1896 by TIMOLEON I. PHILEMON

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