The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1886-12-19
THE TWO CLUBS AT WAR.
BITTER RIVALRY BETWEEN TIE P4L-
MAS IND j. C. 4. C.


President Muirheid, of the PAfmas,
Awaiting, in His swallow Tail, a Coach
that Never arrived--1Iayor CEeve-
lands Speech at the Opening Giving
Offence.
Club circles all over the town are agog
ever the breach that the Fair OF the Jersey
City Athletic Club-which, by the way, is
to be opened through tomorrow event ng--
has developed between that club and the
Palma Club.
The story of the row is peculiar one.
A feeling OF rivalry between the two clubs
naturally enough sprang up whea the
Palmas first learned from our columns that
the Jersey City Athletic Club proposed to
erect club house that would take the
shine off theirs. 1t was generous and
healthy in its tone, however, at the start.
and babe fair rather to give a zest to club
life and club enterprise. Those OF the
members of either club that were locking
for chips on the shoulders OF the other
may have put false construction upon airy
nothings, and harbored little feelings
as a whole, the two big clubs
were, to all outward appearances, on
the best of terms with each other
till the Fair Of the Jersey City Athletics
was opened. Mayor Cleveland was one Of
the speakers who helped to charm the
throng that gathered at the beautiful club
house on Clinton avenue on the opening
night, ten days ago. His speech did not
strike one not interested in one of the clubs
as over harsh or over sharp; but the Palma
boys thought that he made comparisons
between the two clubs that were unfayor-
able to the Palma club, and that there was
an intentional sting for its members in
what he said. The Palma devotees were
not alone in noticing this; but several
members of the Jersey City Athletics were
mach exercised lest something that the
Mayor had said might give offence to their
sister club. Several of them spoke to a
representative of the SUNDAY MORNING
News who was present on the opening
night and deprecated the tone Of the May
or's address. They hoped that the Palnas
would not treasure it up against them.
For they had set apart night especially for
the entertainment of the Palma boys and
expected to have a rollicking good time
with them. The Palma night came. A
handsome transparency in the fair hall pro-
nounced the Jersey City Athletic Club's
welcome, but only eight Of the four hun
L
hand to gaze upon it.
''The rest of us just gathered in our club
rooms in good force on that night, said
one of the Palmas to the SUNDAY MORNING
News man yesterday, ''to show the Ath-
letics that there was nothing to stand 10 the
way of our going to the fair, and chuckIed
in our sleeves over the chagrin the Ath-
letics must have been suffering when they
saw how we had boycotted them. But tits
not the speech of Mayor Cleveland alone
that we complain of. It was supplemented
by what looked like a designed slight to
William Muirheid, our President DR.
Leonard J. Gordon, on behalf of the Recep-
hon Com 1littee of theAthletics stopped in at
Mr.. Muirheid's Office just before the open
ing of the fair, and asked him to be pres
emit on the opening night. He agreed, and
DIR. Gordon promised to send for him the
carriage that was to take the Mayor to the
Clinton avenue club house. Mr.. Muirheid
decked himself in his swallow-tail and sat
down to wait. He is not waiting for that
coach to come; if he had waited for the
coming of the coach he might have been
sitting in his claw-hamlner yet The car
rage never arrived. 1t is this very evident
slight that hiss excited the Palma men, and
induced them TO boycott the AithIeAcs
FAIR"
Yes" chimed in another, sand they
have felt the weight of cur boycott All
the good spenders OF our Club have kept
away, and they are 1000 out on as.
| Another member of the Palma Club in
sisted that the sting o. the Mayors re-
marks was Intentional, because the Mayors
son had been black-balled by the PAlmas;
| and he knew that there was feeling
among the uptown club m embers Why?
| Well, when the Palmas held their fair,
they had invited ladies without number
from the Hill to participate in it. But the
downtown ladies had been left entirely
out of the invitations extended by the
Athletic Club. The Hill ladies were 50
determined to have full control of
the fair that Frank L. Clarke has
had no end of trouble for having invited
Lulu Gable, who lives down town, to assist
at his Liperty-i illuminated booth.
80, take it all in all" this member
added 1--WE have drawn the line firmly and
stiffiy on the Athletics"
Mr.. Samuel r. Finney, Chairman OF tie
Ways and Means Committee of the Athletic
Club, called at this office last evening to
announce that the lair now in progress
will not close till tomorrow evening.
Aske1 about these matters of which the
Palma Club has complained, he said that
the Jersey City Athletics want to be on
good terms with the Palmas if the Palma's
viii permit it, and that he hoped that the
breach between the clubs will be closed
soon for repairs. He said that no inten-
tional slight had been put upoa Mr.. Muir
held at ali; but that when the corner stoue
of the Athletic Club house was laid Mr..
Muirheid WAS invited to be present; and
that he did not even acknowledge the invi-
tation. He was invited to attend the Art
Loan Exhibition; he did not acknowledge
this invitation, then, either by declining or
accepting it. DR.. Gordon had invited him
TO be present at the opening of the fair.
but had forgotten to mention that a carri-
age was to be sent for Mr.. MEirheid, ana