The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-03-19
DR.. Blanchard on Prize Fights.
To the Editor of the Press:

osoeoH your paper so highly that II
gave me good deal of pain, this morn
Ing, to read your report of the brutal
prize light. Its faring head lines and
lts three or four columns of Geographic
woros aston1shed me. 1 am told, how
ever. mat there is demand for such
oetalis on the part of respectable people.
Ins more the pity. 1t seems to me
my duty to give voice to the dissent
ana disgust of those who do not think
that newspapers should aid In giving
puDiiolty to these degrading contests. 1t
is possible that I am mistaken as to our
number sincerely hope that we are
the majority. If, however, we are the
minority, 1t is'only fair that we should
be heard.
The time has come when the ministry
ought to plead with editors of papers
and their patrons to consider seriously
the evil effects of reporting prize fights
our young people have enough to de-
Tbs "Dime Novel" brings many a boy
to prison. The ruffianism Of prize fights
only deepens the vicious tendency to
violence. Surely fathers and mothers
cannot wish to have daily papers aid the
forces which tend towards brutality. In
their name, I ask the respectable
readers of papers to join with the clergy
in trying to create public opinion
which will not allow this great evil to
grow.
When Matthew Arnold was in Ameri.
ca, many of his letters told his readers
in England that the one great cause of
rejoicing that he was soon to be home
again, was the fact that lie should not
see the American newspapers Their
records of brutalities wers overwhelm-
ingIy distasteful The Century club of
World" and journal on account of
their atrocities. The Portland PRESS
has too high q character to be one OF the
papers to help towards publicity of brn-
tality. feel sure that it's management
must denounoe prize fights and attend
ing governors and exUnited States
Senator reporters. If the majority Of
its patrons wish for these rspellant re-
ports, let the minority ut least make Wig
orons protest as do now.
Very cordially yours,
HENRY BLANCHARD.
March 18. 1897.
eve think that the managers of no
reputable journal is anxious to publish
accounts of prize fights. On the other
hand they would prefer not to publish
them. The truth is. unpalatable as it
may be, they are practically forced to
it by the overwhelming public demand.
Nor is this demand confined to low
people or to cheap people. SIT is fact, :"
wrote Mr.. Henry q. Merwin in the Bos-
ton Transcripts the day before the fight.
"that Rev. MIL withhold his name
these details (ths preliminariss of the
fght) in his morning paper last Monday
before he turned to the reports of SER
mons, or to the news from Washington,
or to any other decorous part of the
journal; I happen to know because I
train" A few years ago we know per-
sonslly that a distinguished college presi-
dent spent two hours in Portland news
paper Office waiting for the news OF a
prize fight. Anybody that was around
a Portland newspaper office on Wednes-
day afternoon could not have failed to be
convinced that the interest in this fight
Was not confined to any class but per-
vaded all classes. The telephone bell was
ringing constantly and there was a
stream of reputable citizens flowing In
and out all the fternoon inquiring for
the latest news from the fight. 1t Is
no exaggeration to say that the interest
was only less, aud not much less, than
that aroused by a national political con-
vention or great election. So far as
We have been able to observe no reputable
paper in the country which appeals to
the general public left out this fight.
The New York Times. which has for Its
motto "All the news that's fit to print
devoted four columns of fine print to it:
the New York Tribune had over two
columns. the Springfield Republican,
which is certainly as clean and conser-
vative a general newspaper as cnn be
found, had five or six columns, and the
Bangor Wing, which boasts, and rightly
too, of it's freedom from the sensational
and disreputable, felt compelled to pub
lish the details Of this contest. We do
not believe that the editors of any of
these journals were anxious to publish
this matter for it's own sake. All of them
we are convinced, would have preferred
to leave out the details, but yielded to the
all but universal demand. OF course it
may be urged that demand for thing
not good itself is no JUSTIFICATION for
supplying 1t, but a. long as the demand
is as general as 1t was in this case and
from sources so reputable, and the result
of not supplying it is to see your rival
which has. published it sought for by
thousands while your own publication
Is ignored, even by many of the people
who profess to look on prize fights with
horror, there will be good deal of
yielding to temptation. In the present
state of public opinion, or public prac-
tice, the elimination from reputable
newspapers Of general circulation of all
matter that falls short of the ethical
standard that some refurmers would set
up would extinguish them and leave the
field entirely to the sensational aud
disreputable sbeet.)