Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-14
Opinions About the Pelican Club
Injunction and the Influences
of Club Prize Fights.
OLD AND NEW FIGHTING METHODS.
Some Claims Of the Local Players League
and National League Baseball
Clubs Discussed.
EACH CLUB SHORT OF TIE STANDARD.
Anew Remarks About the Latest Rumun Of Big
Compromise Among the kagnatss


Readers of these reviews will, I hope,
pardon me this week if give baseball sec
ondary place on the list of subjects to be
dealt with. The national game has really
been so devoid of interest during the week,
and comparatively small number of peo-
pie have patronized it, that it seems to me
other subjects concern the public much more
at present than that of our once glorious
national game. One feature OF the weeks
doings has been of great significance and
there are many important considerations at
tached to it. I refer to the application of
n&e1e-er of London citizens for an injunc-
toe to restrain the Pelican Club from hav-
ing any more fights and smoking" con-
eerts in =. building. 1 intend to say few
words on the matter because it is of inter-
national importance and it reminds me that
the methods of prize fighting to-day
are much worse than the methods
of wears ago. hold they are worse in every
respect, and have held the opinion for
some time that il the law will not permit OF
two men testing their fstic skill in remote
spot "fsr from the madding crowd" in the
open air it is inconsistent to allow battle
in somewhat of public building in the
heart of a city. Let us take the old method
and after looking at it compare it with the
Pelican Club or any other clubs method of
to-day, and think well agree that the So
called pugilism OF to-day is more brutal
and inhuman and more demoraIizing than
when contestants adjourned TO some out-of-
the-way and quiet spot and settled their ar
oa 40 /
not going to offer any argument either for or
against prize fighting. All that intend to
do is to try and show that its surroundings
and influences are worse to-day than they
were 20, 80 or 40 years ago, when the "unco
guide" were not so anxious to make morality
BY law.
The Old Time Merhod.
When the grandfathers of to-day were
young men, and even later, men who were
pugllisitS and who had ambition to become
pugilists had supporters among the very
wealthiest classes. But despite this fact the
stake money to be fought for was extremely
small compared with the extraordinary
"purses" of to-day offered by parties who
most live on the business. Men like Jem
Ward, Savers, Ben Caunt, the Belchers and
others fought many severe and heroic
battle for $50 a side, and the spectators of
these contests included some of the
wealthiest and highest noblemen in the
world. The custom was to adjourn from 10
a place remote from city, town or hamlet
and fight only with those weapons that
nature had provided. Those who did not
believe in such contests would never be
near it and need never see anybody or any,
thing connected with it. There was no plan
or scheme such as ''gate money!" whereby
so-called managers and other indolent indi-
viduals filened thousands of dollars from
the public. All the money, excluding the
small stakes, that the principals and their
friends could expect to get was the money
obtained by selling the colors of the con-
testants. Well, under these circumstances
and conditions many famous battle was
fought and victory won. After the contests
the spectators would return to their respect
i've homes, and society or the world was not
one whit the worse for it. In these days
there was more honesty and honor and in
telligence among pugilists and their sup
porters than there has ever been since.
The New Method.
But new method, the club method has
been introduced. Rightly or wrongly the
law has vetoed the old time way. The in
crease of rufianism and bIackguardism at
these open air concerts, no doubt, have
much to do with the severity of the law on
the matter, and with the withdrawal OF the
patronage of the wealthy and educated
classes from the contests. Whatever may
have been the direct cause we have new
method, and am not sorry to see the law
and public opinion knocking it out. Let
US look at the modern plan of conducting a
battle. There are two kinds of clubs that
promote these contests more brutal than
the old time way of fighting with bare
hands. One club is run for the special
financial benefit of an individual such as
the Ormonde and the Pelican clubs. These
so-called sporting clubs each has a pro-
prietOr. Crichton Temple is the Ormonde
Club and Ernest Wells is the Pelican Club.
These gentlemen are the money makers, and
when matters are brought down to a fine
point 1 think we'll find that these alleged
clubs are hardly clubs at all, but simply
places run by single individuals to sell
liquors without license and have
money making prize fights with
impunity. The other kind of clubs
are those whose treasures are replenished
by the fights and drinking that take place.
within their buildings. The latter are inh
variably in the heart of the cities in whic a
we find them. A big purse is offered for
battle and the club becomes famous. Two
men are matched to fight with gloves and
under rules that are infinitely more brutal
than the rules of olden times. The fight
takes place right in the center of the city,
and night is made hideous with the mob
that parades the streets and crowds the thor
oughfares Of the vicinity of the place of
battle. Tricksters and schemers pocket lots
of moDey as a result of the affair, and in
one night there is more prize fighting in
fluences at work in that city than there
would have been in II months under the
old method. These clubs encourage the
congregation of all the worst characters in
the universe, and in the United States this
is particularly the fact. We only need
take New Orleans and San Francisco as
illustrations Of the fact They congregate,
and like human vultures, live on the rest
ofsUciety. All these facts 1 think will
show that morally prize fighting to-day is
much worse than it was IN the days l have
referred to.
The Brutal Features ofIt
In the preceding paragraph L stated that
the conditions OF these club contests are
L.