St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-11-29
ST. PAUL NEWS.
PRIZE FIGHT TRIAL.
Hard or Soft Gloves was the Question
Barnes and Norton Fined for
Disorderly Conduct.
Special law Needed in Minnesota for Ring
Sluggers-The Mill Probably to Come
off Tomorrow.

that St. Paul can show up, with forInid-
able array of sporting men and worshippers
of brawny muscle to learn how the charges
of disorderly conduct against Prof. Barnes,
of st. Paul, the athlete, and Paddy Norton,
the Chicago bruiser, would pan out under
the law.
The com batants, whose advertised mill
was so suddenly broken up, just as peace
able st. Paulites were about to set down to
turkey and chicken-pie with thankful hearts,
by Chief Clark and Detective O'Connor, sat
side by side in the court room evidently a
little anxious as to the result, while large
part OF the audience were evidently heaping
maledictions In their hearts upon the two
Johns who in the maintenance of law and
order had scooped them out Of
SO admittance ring fight to which no cou-
pons were issued for reserved seats, and
consequently from which no back pensions
could be liqudated.
The prosecution for the city was conducted
by Thomas D. O'Brien, Esq, as counsel,
and the defence by w. c. Goforth, Esq. The
testimony of Chief Clark and Detective
O'Connor was that they found the defend
ants in full battle array for a prize fight in
the gymnasium, with a crowd of spectators,
advertised TO witness such a spectacle, and
that they we're armed with hard gloves, these
being the coverings worn upon the hands
on such occasions.
The testimony of Prof Barnes, Paddy
Norton and an athlete named Weber was
that the river having frozen up the idea of
the advertised prize fight had
been abandoned and that that morning
it had been concluded to substitute for
the original programme a soft glove
sparring match in which the man who stood
up longest was TO receive the purse. They
also testified that when the arrest was made
they were armed with soft gloves only, or
what are known to the athletic world as in
FAINT gloves, and used in the gymnasium for
boxing exercises. These two pair of gloves
were produced by the defendants in court.
In the argument for the defense Mr.. Go
forth plead that the defendants had prepared
only for an exhibition of skill in the gymna-
SUM building of which Barnes had the keys
and TO which he had the same privilege of in
viting guests as though the same had been
private house. He cited the Sullivan Green
field slugging match in New York, in which
the police arrested the parties in a private
hall when about to commence a struggle
with soft gloves, and who on being taken
before criminal court were discharged, said
court deciding that there was no disorderly
conduct in the case, and that the smuggling
match was private instead of a public
sparring exhibition.
The attorney then volunteered the infor-
nation TO the court that prize fight was q
fist fight and consisted in knocking out.
This gymnasium exhibition was alice samee
in every particular as the Sullivan Greenfield
case. II this exhibition was acriminal Of
Tense the 200 members of the st. Paul Ath-
letic club could be brought before this court
every day, and all athletic exercises which
have been allowed at Market hall the past
year could have been broken up.
The attorney then paid a high compliment
to Prof. Barnes as an athletic teacher, and as
areputable citizen and property owner. Prof
Barnes had changed the intended mill out
side the city to a sparring match with soft
gloves when it was found that it was impos-
sible to go elsewhere. Before the match
commenced he wanted to see if the police
would make any objection. There was no
intention of riot, disturbance or breach of
the peace, and he therefore asked his honor
to discharge the defendants.
Mr.. O'Brien, for the city. said that never
before yesterday had prize fight been at
tempted in this city, and this one had been
properly interrupted by the police. If the
parties to it had acquiesced and not tried to
defeat the intelligence of the public with the
plea of infant gloves it would not be so Gull
bable. In taking So admittance yesterday
either Barnes and his partner had been OBJ
ai nj 4 fale
tended to have a prize fight. These parties
had bulletined their powers of endurance
and muscular prowess about the city for
weeks, and the hackers bad been betting on
them and a SO admittance fee had been
charged at the door for this purpose
The counsel ridiculed the use of tsinfant
gloves" to be used by these parties in batting
each other until one or the other couldn't
stand up, and in this the defendants had
contradicted themselves, and also commented
severely on the evasion of the statement
that plans were changed by the freezing
up Of the river. it was a thoroughly
advertised prize fight, the elements for a
prize fight were gathered together, and it had
no effect on the public good order whether
the combatants proposed to mill each other
In tull-dress soft gloves or with their hands
tied behind them. All the utterapces of the
terday when all of a sudden the pretense
was, it had been abandoned for "soft
gloves"
Judge Burr said it was difficult for the
court to determine whether this was a prize
light or soft-glove case, but it was not diff
cult 10 decide that it was case of disorderly
conduct under the law. He therefore fined
the defendants $25 each with the warnin o
that the sentence need not be taken for a
precedent in the future, and the show was
over.
OPINION OF AN ATHLETE
After the crowd had cleared the court room
the GLOBE representative at the trial inter
viewed a prominent athlete as to whether.
had the gymnasium assemblage not been
broken up by the police, it would have turned
out to be hard or soft glove encounter.
This gentleman was of the opinion that soft
gloves were at first put on to await develop
ments, and that if there had been no interior
ence ON the part of the officers. and the coast
had proved clear, the hard glove contest
would have taken place.
THE MINNESOTA LAW.
Judge Burr upon being interviewed said
that while in many Of the states of the Union
there was special law against prize fighting
and express penalties therefor, there was very
unfortunately no such enactment in the
Minnesota statutes. and that he considered
that among the first bills passed by the com
ing legislature should be one to cover this
crime against the peace and good order of
this state.
III this instance he felt that the police had
done good JOB for the city and county in
setting square down on the first attempt 10
inaugurate such mill in this city, and their
prOmpt action would save nn1lnh trn,Llo 4