The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-12
Prize Fighting and Other LawIess-

lFlAe n tEhAAhE anu oNher Lnffless-
ness.
The whole country IS more or less agi-
tated about the prize fights that are sched-
uled 10 be pulled OF" shortly somewhere
down in Texas or across the frontier. The
pugilists have been put. OF have put them
selves. TO a great deal Of trouble and ex-
pense to find a spot in which the events"
may be pulled OF without the Interference
OF the police CT the troops. II would seem,
from certain facts. that the fighters and
their hackers really have no one 50 much
as themselves 10 blame for the trouble
they are having. For. while they are run
ming around over the country in search Of
a place Of safety from constables and
troops, other fights in no wise different
except in name are being almost daily
held in some Of the largest cities in the
country. under the patronage Of athletic
clubs
only a few days ago a "sparring exhibit
ton for the gate receipts" was held in an
eastern city noted for its wealth and eul-
ture. The cOmbatants wore gloves, of
course. but one of them was knocked out
And the telegraphic reports of the oncoun-
ter-how first blood was drawn. how one
Of the fighters was dazed by blow on the
jaw, etc.-were as thrilling as anything
that ever appeared in print during the
palmiest days of prize fighting. In every
thing except nomenclature. that fight was
as brutal as would be the one proposed to
be fought in Texas. or Mexico. Hence it
is apparent that the managers of Fitzsim-
mons and Maher have erred in naming the
contest. They should have called it a
"sparring exhibition" and gone ahead
with it in Boston without fear of inter-
ference.
This is not said by way of defending the
prize fight. There is no ground upon which
it can be defended. 1t is brutal and brutal
izing, and deserves to be wiped out. At
the same time. the professional prize fight,
when called a prize fight, is no more to be
condemned than is the "sparring exhibit
ton" that is permitted between profess
SIGNALS and amateurs for the gate receipts
or other prizes.
1t is worthy of comment how much more
attention is given to the preventing of
prize fights than is given to the upholding
and indicating of the law and the honor
Of the states in other and more important
instances. Texas has now on duty a num-
Der of her rangers, who are watching a
few sports" to prevent them from violat-
ing the law. The criminal records show
several notorious instances of lynchings
f,,
lation of the law. And not one soldier or
ranger has been called out to vindicate the
law in these instances. Not long ago the
governor of Georgia called out the troops
upon the bare possibility that a company
of prize fighters would attempt to pull off
a fight in the state Still later the COVER
nor of Texas, finding there was no statute
under which he could prevent prize fight,
took the law into his own hands and call
ed out the troops to preserve the peace"
until the extra session of the legislature
which he called could give him such law
as he wanted. There is hardly a reasona-
bic doubt that the governor of this state
would order out the troops Immediately If
he were to receive reliable information
that the prize fight party from Texas were
headed for Georgia, to bring Off their fight
here. He would hardly wait for the county
authorities to exhaust their resources.
Yet the Zeagler boys, of Screven county
hout the courts and defy the officers of
the law to arrest them for homicide; and
the governor waits on the non-acting coun-
ty authorities.