New-York tribune., 1882-02-27
TIE NUISANCE IN MlDLSON SQUARE.

One woe doth tread upon anothcr's heels
The smallpox has abated but the walking
match has set in. Not long ago it seemed
likely that the city would escape any more
Affections of that kind. So many of these af-
fairs had proved failures in the way of arous
ing popular interest, that sensible people ven
tured to hope that the masses had outgrown
their liking for them. But the small attend
ancc and lack of enthusiasm were due not so
much TO disgust with the nature of the con-
tests as to disappointment at the absence OF
the best known walkers, or at the withdrawal
OF weakening of competitors TO such an extent
as to leave no scmblance of struggle
With the champion Rowel on the track
once more, and with the prOfuson Of
extraordinary records which the other walkers
can boast Of, there is some reason to fear
repetition of the scenes of few years ago
when the pedestrian craze affected all classes,
and a bullct-h headed EnglishmaD, noteworthy
Tor no quality in which many brute is not
his equal if not his superior, was the hero of
the hour. Unless ROwell's legs or stomach
provdentially prove more feeble than the
owner and his friends expect and the interest
in the match closes on account of his retire
mcnt, we are likely to have the insensate eX-
citement of those days revived. Newsboys
will be waking up peaceful citizens at all
hours of the night with the latest reports from
the scene OF conflict, bulletins will be dis
playcd on walls and III windows in every
block, and tens Of thousands of peOple-mOsty
fools-will be eagerly asking, "Who's ahcad?'
This will be an afilictiOn from which we
may well pray to be delivered. These six-day
contests have nothing in them gratifying or
attractive to any reasonable mind. There is
no grace, beauty or true manliness in them.
The men who take part are on the intellectual
moral and physical level of prize fighters, and
it is hard to see wherein such matches are SUI
pcrior TO the battles of the ring. In both it is
merely a question of the man who can stand
the most suffering and still keep on his legs. The
blood and bruises, the broken jaws and battered
noses of the przc-rinG are sickening enough
but who that has watched the faces of the
miserable creatures that limp aud stagger on
their weary round, in the last day of a
ong-distance match, could ever doubt that in
cruelty and brutality these contests are worse
than prize fighting. With the pugilist the
torture is only n matter of minutes, or at most
of few hours. For the pedestrian it stretches
through six long days and nights. The law
which stops the one might well put an end to
the other What single gooa purpose was ever
served by one of these degrading and brutal
exhibtions7 In the skill OF an accomplished
oarsman, i'll the swift and graceful fight of a
runner like Myers, in the quick changes OF
lacrosse or baseball or cricket there is much
that is worthy of admiration. Six-days-
matches have nothing i'll common with gen
uine sport. The shambling dog-trot which
gets over the most ground has nothing
graceful in ii, while the suffering which the
prolonged strain inevitably causes, and which
is marked III every line of the worn faces that
move around the track during the last few
days of the walk, ought to shock and repcl
the humane. There is no test of skill or of
any high quality. The man who can drag his
aching body over the course with the fewest
minutes of sleep and who can keep his swo-
len feet moving in any way during the great
est number of hours. proves the winner.
What does hc gain by it7 Any reputation
or popularity he may secure is extremely short
lived, and is confined TO the lowest classes.