The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-04-21
4 Center OF PuG!L!sM.
~ N2yAAe ALI4MEfspE5N 8Y5 EyffE@F1I mHfNA@4W Il
Chicago Likely TO Be Made the
headquarters for the
Prizs Ring.
Tho idea That Everything VIII Be
on the "Wide Open"
Principle.
Local Sports Hope to Form an Athletic
Club and Guido New Orleans and
C0noy Island.

This city may become . prize-hRhsing
uenter. says the Chicago Evening Mail. At
least such 10 the common gossip in sporting
circles, and there may be more truth in this
gossip than would appear At hrst sight.
Thu men who have been especially instru-
mental in spreading the report have not
hesitatsd to say that the sports expect
to BE- exempt from prosecution dur.
ing the new city naturalization. In
deed, professional sporting mon of all
kinds are looking forward to a wide open"
condition Of affairs. ~ they call II. Wheth-
Or they do 80 of their own accord or whether
they have been promised immunity from
police interference they do not say. At all
events the current talk is about q new
athletic club" whose chief purpose will,
IL 10 said. be the entertainment OF vast
crowds Of men whose dearest delight Is to
watch men beat each othsE into insensibil-
ity.
Chicago 10 an ideal ate for an athletic
club Of this kind. It ID believed that there
arc enough "patrons" of athletic sports liv-
ing inside the city limits to erandly sup-
port a prizs fighting association of this
kind and the purses that could be raised
here for fights to finishes would be u~nrivalsd
by M city in America. At the present
time this sort OF sporting club 10 limited to
San Francisco. Now Orleans. and mi club
in the vicinity Of New York. Those clubs
do not encourage boxing or sparring. II 10
plain. simple. brutal prize fighting they are
after. and no p%retense whatever to the BON
trary 10 made.
In fact. in their agreements with the
pladiators who appear before them there 10
always . stipulation to the effect that there
shall be no draw" which, when rendered
into English. means that the contestants
TO the floor utterly paralyzed and incapable
of moving. hearing. seeing or speaking
until. In q word, one of them 10 finished"
A Prize fight without this affinity ia to the
taste OF the patrons OF this form of sport
like an egg without salt. Then, too, Chi
csco Is an ideal site because it 10 central
and within a nights ride Of anywhere. The
local fRht-lovinR% population and the i'm
mense patronage that would come from
other cities would make an athletic" club
of this kind a greater success than even she
famous Olympic or Crescent City clubs in
New Orleans or the Coney Island club of
New York. Those organizations are very
profitable affairs. for besides being able to
give 1875. 600 or $50. 600 for one purse they
are enabled to clear Thousands of dollars on
the receipts.
The man who talked up this matter
among tho sports" had an idea some time
ago that they could organize q club and
laise a purse in time to bring Corbett and
Mitchell to this city and have these two
amiable gentlemen settle the momentous
question OF the worlds championship dur
ing the term Of the World's fair. But tho
movement did not meet with the hearty
And general response that was certainly to
have been expected in tho circumstances,
partly because the men Of money in the
town did not care just at that time to ally
themselves with the scheme. and partly
because there was no little dubiety as to
the ultimate success of the game were an
attempt made to play at il:
So that scheme fell through and was
Manhattan Athletic club and the clubs in
New Orleans took to bidding on the fight
with the result in favor of the former,
which has offered the two lovable gentle
men above named the mere trif1e Of $40. 600
for trying to put each other out"
The name of Charles L. Davies, other
wise known among the sporting fraternity
as ''the parson." was coupled with the plan
in the general talk, but II that brilliant
manager is to lend his influence to it he
has not avowed the same 40 yet. Davies ia
not in the city at present. He lie now play
ing the a%uctioneer in "Unole Toms
Cabin" to the Uncle Tom of one Peter
jackson. But Davies brother. We're DA-
vies, il In the city. and when he spoke of
the rumored athletic club il was not with
the warmest Of feeling in Its favor; that 10
to say in the favor of the authorities per-
hitting it.
1T could never be done in Chicago"
said Davies. $50 far as my brother being
interested in it l am in utter ignorance. I
am certain. too, that il such wsre the case
] had a letter from him to-day and he made
no reference TO this matter At all. There
may be others who are thinking about
forming such a club. but it is easier to talk
about than do. They would never let US
have regular prize fights here as they have
hoped for would be mild boxing bouts with
heavy gloves such az have been in vogue in
the past. To allow such fights a. they have
in New Orleans it would DO necessary to
pass a bill through the legislature, and
that, I think. cannot he DONE.
~"Suppose the local police should not in
terfsre. could not the fighting be done7"
Eyes; but that 10 just the objection. The
local police will be sure to interfere. and IL
strikes me that the CITY administration or
who it's head may be. will ont no figure In
very definite about the new club and can
therefore give you no reliable information
about IT,"
while nothing sure can be said about
the proposed fighting club" said q CLARK
street man who is In touch with the sport
ing element. II have heard nc end OF talk
about it on the street. When you come to
pin the business down il isn't so easy. l
have heard 'Parson' Dawes 10 In II, but l
can't say for certain. You can bet, though,
that a club Of that kind would be a great
90 in Chicago n would draw all tho big
fights in the country to this town. The
monev is here and the people are here, and
II the new city government will only con-
sent to keep its hands off New Orleans
woald be compelled to take . back seat In
no time. 1t all depends on how tho police
will act. The feeling seems to be- that
things are going TO be run wide open, and
II they are Tvs dollars to douQhnuts ws'll
have the club"
Ewes DAughters.