Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1889-07-12
Slugging Triumphant.

To say that pugilism is condemned hy
popular sentiment j. simply to say that
popular sentiment condemns rufianism
and brutality.
There was time in England when IL
tic contests in the ring received more or
less public countenance as exhibitions Of
1.-The manly art Of selfdefenoe.' But
both in England and America prize fight
ing long ago sunk to q degrading sport,
and for generations the community as a
whole has looked upon it as even worse
than bull fighting, dog fighting or cock
fighting.
Condemned by public opinion, it is also
under the ban of the law. In nearly ev-
ery State Of the Union it is declared a
crime punishable by imprisonment
Yet it cannot be said with truth that the
interest in it is confined TO roughs, out
laws and the lowest class of sports.
The three thousand men who gathered
around the ring at Richburg, Mississippi,
on Monday morning were not all of that
class by any means. Every daily news
paper in the country next morning pub
lished an account of the fight as part of
the news of the day. This matter was
iead with avidity by countless thousands
who are not to be act down as toughs and
rowdies, and who neither defend nor ex-
cuse prize fighting.
But what is most remarkable and al
most inexplicable about this latest exhibi-
tion Of pugilism is the utter defiance OF
law and public sentiment which has char
acterized it from beginning to end. The
penal code Of New York, for example,
was openly defied and violated by one OF
the principals, the trainer, hackers and the
stakeholder The law Of Maryland was
defed and violated in the same way. Yet
no attempt was made to enforce either
As the day set for the fight approached
the affair assumed the character of q grand
hippodrome. Each man with his retinue
of followers journeyed South in triumph
al procession greeted by enthusiastic
crowds at every point. The reception OF
each at New Orleans was an ovation. The
leading athletic clubs Of the city Wed
with one another. The Queen and Cres-
cent Railway Company rendered all their
facilities The Western Union Telegraph
Company did the same. Crowded excur-
sion trains steamed out of the depot amid
rare enthusiasm. All preliminaries for the
battle were widely advertised. Every de-
tail was loudly proclaimed, nothing was
concealed save the location of the ground.
Meanwhile half a dozen Governors had
issued proclamations against the fight.
One even offered a large reward for the ar
rest Of either of the principals The mill
tia was called out Sheriffs were exhorted
to vigilance officers Of the law were
commanded to prevent the affair by every
lawful means in their power.
In spite of all this show of authority
and in violation of the law, three or four
excursion trains steamed gayly ont of
New Orleans to the battle ground, the
ring was pitched and Sullivan and Kilrain
proceeded to slug each other to their hearts
content and the hearts content Of three
thousand spectators. This having been
done without police interference or moes-
tation the crowd returns TO New Orleans as
publicly as they had left it.
Even now all the active participants are
liable to an indictment by Mississippi
Grand Jury, and to cxtradition from any
other State where they may be found.
But nobody supposes that any Of them
will ever be called upon to suffer any pen
atty.
1t is obvious that there has never been
in this country more conspicuous tri-
umph of pugilism over law and public au-
thority. 1t is not less obvious that prece-
dents Of this kind cannot be multiplied
without bringing the law into contempt
and the national fame into disrepute.