The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-14
MORALITY IN TEXAS.

The moral and mental status of Texas
OF SO much of it, at least. as Dallas repre-
sents-has been established in a small
speech which the Mayor of Dallas has
made for publication. 1t should be first
explained that the State has penal law
prohibiting prize-fghts and civil law per-
hitting the licensing of "refined physical
culture exhibitions" or something equally
as amusing. The highest legal talent in
the State" has expressed the opinion that
the civil law will govern in the meeting
which two distinguished gentlemen,
Messrs. Corbett and Fitzsimmons, are ar
ranging to have at Dallas; and as the Gov
ernor and the Attorney do not
seem to be overzealous in constituting the
relation of the conflicting laws" the
meeting will very likely occur. All these
circumstances have combined to inspire
the Mayor of Dallas to the following utter
ance:
''The great physical-culture exhibition
between Corbett and Fitzsimmons will
come off as scheduled on October q at
Dallas. 1t is sure thing. n Dan
Stuart, president of the Florida Athletic
Club, is a good business man, and is not
an enormous crowd from the best people
of the country in October, and that is the
main reason the business men of the State,
and particularly of Dallas, are supporting
Mr.. Stuart"
Outside of Texas the general conception
of the term "the best people of the coun-
try includes ministers of religion, worthy
members of religious societies, men and
women teachers of the young, supporters
of decency and morality, citizens who be-
lieve in enforcement of the laws, public
officers willing to observe the oaths which
they have taken to enforce the laws, men
and women of culture who lead society and
moral reforms and constitute themselves
exemplars of conduct. and considerable
sprinkling of unclassified persons in all
walks of life who are opposed to the cult
Walton of any such atavistic tendency in
the race as is effected by bull-fghting,
prize-fghting, bull-baiting, torture of Grim
inals, infanticide, duels and all similar in
dulgences which tend to our retrogression
to those savage days in our evolution
when we lived in caves, used club in kill
ing animals for meat and regarded human
flesh as the rarest of table delicacies.
As such persons here enumerated will
not go to Dallas on the Dist of October, but
on the contrary can regard that day and
the place and event with which it is asso-
ciated only with horror and repulsion,
they cannot be regarded by the people of
Dallas as belonging to the 'best people of
the country; and as it is only the best
people of the country whose incursion
Dallas seems DESTROYS of counting, 1t should
be understood that all here enumerated
are not wanted there on the 21st of October
or at any other time. 1t seems that, ac-
cording to the standard of morality which
Dallas has erected, such persons would be
regarded as nuisance and hindrance to
keep away forever.
The National quarantine regulations are
at present aimed against such evils only as
cholera, smallpox, yellow fever leprosy
and few others. No provision existing
for putting Dallas under quarantine lest
the influences upon which its greatness are
founded should prove infectious, and old
Mother Earth, in her inscrutable wisdom,
having given no sign as yet that she in
tends to take any chances with the in
tegrity of her internal economy by opening
and swallowing place which the educated
stomach of the human race refuses to ac-
cept, we can only hope that the fondest
dreams of Dallas will be realized in the
permanent staying there of all "the best
people of the country" who propose to
enjoy the charms of the place on the 21st
of October.