The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-10-31
DOWN ON PRIZE-FIGHTS,
DIR. BOWMAN DRAWS A LESSON
FROM THE PUaILIsTIC ART.

The DemorslzinR Effect Upon the
State and the People-Sports That
Do Good and Sports That Do III to
Mantle Tragic Death of Young
Wnliuk Referred To - The Recent
Thunderbolt Fight.
DR.. c, Z. bowman preached at Wesley
Monumental church last night upan the
subject Of prizedghting. DR.. Dowman's
sermon was not at all sensational. but he
expressed himself very strongly as TO the
moral and physical effects of this and all
other sports characterized by exhibitions Of
brute strength.
DR.. Dowman's text was from I. Timothy
iv. S: For bodily exercise profteth little;
but goodness is profitable unto all things,
having promise Of the life that now is and
Of that which is to comen
DIR. Bowman began his sermon by refer
ence to tho oldRoman gladia EOrial sports
and athletic games which are mentioned in
the scriptures.
The Greek and Roman games were
famous all over that section OF country, he
said, and it WAS regarded as honorable TO
take part in and TO come OF a victor in
those games. 1t was different, however,
with the gladiatorial contests. These were
regarded as dishouorable, and no one n no
took part in any such contest, no matter
what his previous position, was ever adj
United to aHy position of honor or trust or
given any social recognition.
RELICS OF oLD-TIME SPORTS.
Some relics Of the ancient Roman games
have come down to us. he said, in heshspe
of base ball. foot ball boating aud other
athletic sports. The Spanish bull-fghts and
the English and American prize fights are
our relics he said, of the barbarous gladIa-
torial contests.
"This il the age of muscular humanity"
said DIR. Dowpau.
1.-THE brow sicklied DER with the pale cast
of thought has been religated to a back
seat The hard student now considers it
necessary to develop his muscle. The body
is receiving attention as we'll as the brain.
This is good thing under proper restric-
tions. Our Young Mems Christian Assc-
Citations, with their gymnasiums and physical
directors, are one evidence uponithe advance
ment upon this line, but l sometimes fear this
is carried too far, and the result is more
gyunastios than religion Is taught"
TO injure the body, DR.. bowman said, is
a sin second only to that of marring the
beauty of the soul. The proper Develop
ment Of the body requires exercise and there
is no exercise better than useful
labor. Tho country boy who works with
the ak and hoe and pillow and takes his
recreation with rod and gun gets the proper
exercise for bis body. | am sorry for these
town boys. Moral character is helped by
physical development. God is honored by
a proper use and care of the powers with
which he has endowed us.
HABITS THAT DEMoRALIzE.
DR.. bowman strongly condemned the to-
haprn abif as i'm ynanfa1Iry lvr
and physically. DR.. Bowman disapproved
as strongly OF physical exhibitions OF any
kind for gain. "All men, be said have
a supreme contempt for the clown,
the acrobat, and the prize fighter
Any kind Of public sport which requires
the risk of life is vicious and degrading,
both to the participants and the spectators.
The prize-fight is peculiarly harmful to our
young men. Women do not attend upon
these exhibitions, both on account Of their
own sense OF delicacy and propriety and the
public sentiment which would oppose their
presence"
Or. bowman said prize-fights are noe
only brutalizing and vicious in their ten
dercies, but honesty is seldom found 10 their
management. Bribery and ohicansry are
common. One party or the other is bought
off and the spectators fail to see what they
pay for.
Another evil Is that they bring crowds of
sporting men together, which DIR. bowman
regarded as particularly harmful In demon
aizing the community by their presence.
They are harmful in the imisators they pro-
duce The small boys have been apiag Sui
livan and Corbett for the last several weeks
and engage in regular set-tos Ia the back
yards and convenient stables.
A SAVANNAH TRAGEDY.
DR.. bowman referred to the Willink
tna rA1W ~ nnA hall a
despite the thrill Of horror it produced in
the community tn effect is wearing away
and the community Is relapsing into indif-
ference, from which 1t may in all probe-
bility be startled by some similar accident.
DIR. bowman took up the lAw on the case
and cited Russell aud other authorities on
criminal law, going to show the liability of
prize-hghters.
A person who kills another is, according
TO this highest authority, he said, guilty of
granddaughter, and further it is held by this
authority that every spectator present is
equally guilty with the slayer. Prize-fRht-
ing, he said, is a statutory offenss in most
states, but not in Georgia.
Our former legislators had never dreamed
that such thing as a prize-fght could &C.
cur on the sacred soil of the state. Heureed
that Representatives Osborne, Doolan and
Guerard and Senator Wright be called upon
to prepare statute specially providing
against prize-hghts in this state.
DIR. bowman referred TO the recent Raedy-
McRae fight at Thunderbolt. To Judge by
his expressions he evidently believed the
spectators to have been bamboo
zle1 by the management. A fght
that was advertised to be fought in fifteen
rounds was fought to finish in four and, to
judge by all reports, it was q very poor
fight at that The bloodthirsty spectators
who had paid 81 each TO see an hours
fighting were put of with sixteen minutes
and then howled for more gore. He had
been told that it was representative crowd.
He was satisfied Of one thing, there were
no preachers there.
DIR. bowman concluded with the wish
that there might be no more prize-dghts in
Georgia.
CITY B3EVITIEs.