The evening times., 1897-02-27
PICTURES UNDER THE DAN
A Bill to Forbid the Circulation
Of Prize Fight Portraits.
DRAWN BY WILBUR CRAFTS
Devised Also to Keep Descriptions
of Pugilistic Events Out of News
papers-Text of Measure and Com
mcntary by It's Author-Reform-
ers Sanguine of the BilI's Passage.

Rev. Wilbur F. Crafts, the superintendent
of the Reform Bureau, who has pursued
the prize fighters with much energy for
the past few years, yesterday had the salts
faction of seeing bill favorabIy reported
by the House Interstate Commerce Com
mittee, which, If passed, will seriously
hamper journalistic enterprsei in connection
with the coming big fight In Nevada. The
| title nd text or the bill follow:
| "A bill to forbid the transmission by mail
or Interstate commerce of any picture or
description of any prize fight or it's acces-
| sories.
| BE it enacted, etc, That no picture or
description OF any prize fight or encounter
| OF pugilists under whatever name, or any
proposal or record OF betting on the same,
| shall be transmitted through the mails in
| the United States or by Interstate COM
mcrce, whether in newspaper or other
periodical or telegram o in any other form.
Sec. 2. Any person sending such matter
or knowingly receiving such matter for
transmission by mail or interstate com
merce shall be deemed guilty of a mis-
demeanor and shall be punished by i'm
the discretion OF the court, or by fine not
exceeding $1,000"
The report accompanying the bill was
delivered by Mr. Aldrich, of Illinois, and
explains that all the States, with the ex-
ception OF one or two, forbid prize fight
ing.
This bill, the report states, simply
protects the more advanced States, which
brutalZing, against having prize fights
brought into their borders in pictures and
descriptions, which are only lettIe less
harmful than the degrading sport they
describe. This Congress, in its swiftest
enactment forbade prize fighting in its
whole jurisdiction, and so drove a pro-
spectiye prize fight into the mountains
of Mexico, whose government had also
fOTbi dden it. The port concludes
with the following words:
THE reputable press, which describe
prize fights only because of competition,
win welcome this protection "
In view OF the fact that the bill was re-
ported by the committee without d dis
senting voice Mr. Crafts last evening
ex pressed himself as extremely sanguine OF
its passage hy the House.
lie said. II have done and will do all in
my power to further legislation antagonis-
tic to prize fighting. firmly believe that
measures can be passed by the national Con-
ErosS and constitutionally sustained which
will drive such brutality out of existence.
Nearly all the newspapers ot the country |
haveedit orally Iycondemnedthe Nevada legis- |
lature, and therefore I infer that they |
will regard with favor the bill reported by |
the Commerce Committee today. l imag- |
inc PugiIst FitZSimmons regards me |
as his bette noir by this time. Two years |
ago was at the head OF an uprising OF /
citizens OF st. Paul, Mimi, at the time |
when Fitzsimnons' managers were en-
deavoring to secure location for one OF
his fights there.
~ have also had some part in the op-
position to other contes is in which he was
a principal, so altogether l have probably
earned the undying dislike Of that boxer
as well as the pugilistic fraternity gen
orally.
The reform bureau, with which have
the honor to be connec; ed, has been instru-
mental in producing nineteen Congressional
measures during the present session, and
i'm eighteen of them have made headway.
Yesterday at the same hour that the prize
fight bill was being favorabIy reported,
another measure, entitled A bill to pro-
tect State antigamblinG laws from nulli-
riCation through interstate gambling by |
telephone or otherwise was be-
ing favorabIy reported by the House Com
nittee on Judiciary"