Omaha daily bee., 1893-12-10

IIlil iAlEhu bO IAlaNh VII wv w L |
after all, but am too opihionated, to con-
TENACIOUS to give in without a protest and
still stick TO my original proposition that the
fight never takes place. II it does, however,
and I sincerely hope it may, | will be there,
for after witnessing about all the side shows
OF the past decade. 1t wouldn'tdo to miss the
main circus, would IT.
The reason why it begins to look probable
is because the citizens of Jacksonville have
unquestionably made up their erudite minds
not TO allow such an unequallcd good thing
TO get away. They appreciate that it Will
stand out in basso relieve, the one event in
the annals of the Eloridian metropolis, and
no mock moral or goody good sentiments can
blind them to this fact. San Francisco,
New Orleans, Chicago and New York have
had their prize fights galore. Bos-
ton, Philadelphia, Brooklyn and Omaha
their football games, then why not jackson
vile her padded glove contest, I'd like to
know She certainly enjoys the same rights
and prerogativcs of the other great cities
named and evidently means to demonstrate
the fact. 1t is not the sport alone the per-
spicacious citizens Of Jacksonville are tigur-
ing on, though, or their ani.nus in the matter
might he considered at least deprecatory.
They are likewise calculating on an influx Of
visitors burdencd With big rolls, and they
know that under the effervcscent and exhil-
arating influences of champagne sports
drink nothing but champagne-and amidst
the rollicking, dare devilish excitement of a
prize fight that the two, the visitor and the
roll, are easily dissolved and separated, and
that in this case JGcksonvillc's Golfers would
be submerged with simoleons.
Let me sec. the old Spanish town on the
st. Johns is something like a couple of hun
dred years of age, and ever since her found
ing her inhabitants have been plugging
away moss-gathering, wood-chopping soap
making or boiling marmalade, but even yet
In this day, she isn't worth n quarter as
much as Council Bluffs. She has worked
hard and industriously and is deserving of
better things. vet, nevertheless, is very poor.
Another thing, Florida hasn't had in all
these rolling years hardly enough sport to
wad a shotgun-iu fact, has known nothing
worth anything like the price of admission
since way back in 1866, when Menende z
hanged, as h~eretlcs, the members of the
French Huguenot colony, where the senile
st. Augustine now stands. Since then Jack
Shillington Prince has ridden his little safety
Dyke against some swamp horses down
there, they have had several Weeping Water
baseball teams, and that is about all. In
the carrier days the sports extracted u little
sport out of shooting ScEIinoles, batting ALI
gators and catching tarpon, but now these
amusing advertisements have fallen into
lnocuous desuetude and n growth of moss is
encroaching upon Jacksonville's city limits
with an alacrity which threatens to entirely
engulf her it her cnterprising business men
40 not rear up shortly and Stir their sticks.
Cognlzant OF this impending fate the lead
Ing spirits of the town held n meeting down
At George Burbidgc's store one night not
long since and after discussing the matter
exhaustively determined to take this mo-
mentous step. Accordingly the Duval club
named after the county in which JaX Is
situated-was organized, the purse raised
md the prelimlnaries to securing the CONSOLE
dated theatrical -pugiiistico snaps of Man
igers Mitchell and Corbett for n one
was no sooner accomplished, how
ever, than Governor Mitchell-a name,
sake of Charlie's-cocked his old Panama
over his left auricular and swore by the
gods Of Fenandina that the name of the fair
flower state should not be sullied ana he
bmirched by n lot of plug uglies invading her
odoriferous shores and fighting each other
with fists incascd in pillows. Such an af.
fair would be n disgrace to the memory of
that old red hot Juan Ponce de Leon. II
Charlie and Jim would meet with axes pos
sibly the governor would let her went.
1t seems, however, that the municipal
legislature of jacksonville is a bigger man
than the governor, even, and last Tuesday
evening NJ q special session tney passed an
ordinance permitting glove contests within
her walls, the bill also embodying a new
code of rules to govern such pleasantries
Up to date the Marquis of Queensbcrry die
more to ameliorate the brutalitics and re
pulsive features OF prize fighting than any
devotee of the squared circle
who ever lived, but it remain,
for the city council of Jacksonville to cal
the pugilistic climax with a code of rule,
that will metamorphose prize fighting into
mllder pastime than pussy wants n corner
even. This is a burning shame on all th'
great cities of the north. What immorta
names Chris Spccht, Ike Hascall, Charlie
McAndrews and Andy Bruner could hav,
emblazoned upoE the walls of time for them
selves If they had only put their heads To
gether and formulated a set of laws tina
would have permitted Charlie and Jim t.
beat each others mugs into a jelly out at tn,
Coliseum. This was the time in the affair
of Chris, Ike, Chari, ana andy, if, taken a
Its flood, would have led on to glorious COB
Of the long green.
But to cast all levity aside, il Jacksonville
is so lucky as to be able TO pull Off the pi,
hight, II is not probable that the sports dow
there will coniinc themselves to this one at
traction only, but VIII get up u carnival Ink
those that made the Crescent City famous
1t is n long ways to Florida for northern me-
TO go TO witness an event that may last N
longer than IL takes to tell IL, and Will
II would certainly. be a wise NOV
10 give us a number of side dishes with tn
big meal, l v would advise the promoters o
the enterprise TO go slow in heralding uhei
intentions throughout the land, Get the hi
international mill on a solid foundation, the
make preparations for the frills. IL the
come too thick just now, when the game
enshrouded in so much incertitude, there
no telling what : might happen. Governo
Mitchell, like the illustrious governor of In
DIANA. might take it into his head to kic
the bottom out of the whole business. If
takes . gatling gun and the state MALTA I
do 1t.
II might have been IA fortunate thing afte
all that Tommy Ryan didn't get Non his &
with DICK O'Brien n yePr ago. They wer
as good as matched for South Omaha, bu
the outcome Of the Wilkes RYAN fusco scar
the easterner out, and he refused to come her
and take chances with Il PACK of prairi
wolves, as he styled them. In speaking {
O'Brien's recent fight with Jack McGee a
Providence, Macon Mccormick says:
Dick O'Brien made short work of Jac
MCGEE at Providence last Monday nigh
The pivot blow was barred. but when Niece
found that he was 'up against it," as til
boys say, he tried TO use it on O'Brien. Ii
probably preferIe ed 10 lose by a foul than I
hn lnA.l-AA 49, nHI.- - =.