The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-03-21
REPORTER INGALLS,, AND A SHR-
MON ON PRIZE FIGHTS.


60 interview, John J. Ingalls,. Eek United
States Senator from Kansas, and VINO
reported for the New York Journal the
recent "milr' between Corbett and Fltz-
simmons had this to say about prlze-
fighting:
prize fighting, in my opinion, is brutal,
harharous. babboonish. 1t almost makes
ono believe in Darwin's 'reverslon TO an
cestral types A prize fight is pltful,
n nathetic exhibition. No full-hearted
man could endure the sight of prize
fght. His soul would revolt at the suf-
ferings of one or both of the men. Ihe
thud of piston-rod blows, the bruised and
hlackened features, the pallor of brute
determination, and the blood, the event
nal piteous, dazed expression on the face
of one of the men, seeing his poor t1nsel
girdle slipping away from him, the calm,
vicious. concentrated, thumbs down in
tensity of the spectatOrs-what man, not
directly reincarnated, according to the
Ruddhistic doctrine, from a blOod-thlrsty
Roman of the bloodiest days Of the empire
could endure all this? l maintain that no
finished man can strike another man in
the face with his fist, unless in the very
heat and fury of passion, without griev-
ing for the man he strikes. How, then,
could any man of such average senslbhity
take pleasure in witnessing such foul,
such a cruel, horrifc affair as prize
fight? have often read tales of women,
disguised in male attire, attending these
encounters. 1t is quite conceivable, 1
suppose, just as the women of Spaan ana
| I'LL - 4 I,n
such women are not tit to be the mothers
of men or of women. They must possess
hearts of singular callOusness. l could not
meet such women without repugnance.
Prize fighting perpetuates, fosters, the
innate savagery of men. 1t fans the prl-
morlial spark of brutality in their blood,
and rouses it to a flame. l thoroughly
believe that it is the very worst the most
dangerous, spoke in the wheel OF Anglo
Saxon progression. AS long as it endures,
it us q menace to mems advancement a
long the paths of peace. The disarlna-
ment of the world shall never occur until
prize fighting has ceased
In the journal of Friday, we find from
the Senator Reporter the following "spe-
cial'' to his paper
Carson, New, March 1S.-It was very
much like a Presidential nominating con-
vention, or a political rally in the open
air toward the end of a campaign. when
party feeling runs high and public ques-
tons are to be debated by popular ora
tors.
The assemblage was composed almost
entirely of young men under thirty.
There were few in middle life, and the
gray boards scarcely outnumbered the
women 1t was a good-natured, jolly
ing crowd, but not boisterous, nor rough,
nor guying, nor turbulent.
The newspaper representatives were
charming young fellows, and the sports
and toughs appeared to be affable men
of the world, as much interested in the
preservation of order as the magistrates
or the police.
The clergy and the professors were not
present, unless disguised, but every other
rank in society had its representatives.
NOT A QUARRELSOME CROWD
BY ANY MEANS.
Altogether, the assemblage was fully
up to the level of those III attendance
at horse races, base and football games,
bench shows, agricultural exhibitions
and similar gatherings. East or West.
As at those, here also were fakirs, crooks,
gamblers, ladies of the half world, gentle
men with Cleveland necks and diamonds
on hands not strictly manicured, saloons
in full activity, games of chance, pool
rooms, and the usual opportunities for in
diligence and dissipation.
Any gentleman desiring to risk his mon
ey or his brains could find the chance,
as he can in San Francisco or New York.
But l did not see a drunken man or a
pistol, nor did / hear more than custom
airy profanity at the arena or elsewhere
in Carson notwithstanding the alleged
depravity of the people of Nevada in le-
CALLING glove contests.
IAN IRRIDESCENT DREAM"
If the encounter between Corbett and
FitZsimmons yesterday was one of the
memOra bic battles Of the world, as assert
ed by many chroniclers and judges of
such events, then the sorrow, the dangers
and the mmoralities of the prize ring are
largely a product of the imagination.
The ordinary game OF football be-
tween two college teams displays more
brutality and Us attended with more peril
to life and limb than appeared in any
of the fourteen rounds that closed SO dis
astrously for Corbett.
MANY OTHER SPORTS MORE
BRUTAL.
More broken ribs and fractured collar
bones result from hurdle jumping and
horse racing every season than are pos
sible in pugiism for century.
Ring fighting has become one of the
established industries. 1t is a regular
trade or vocation.
The Carson meeting was purely mer-
cenary venture, thoroughly advertised
by ingenious provocations to pique the
curiosity, and adroitly managed as a
money making speculation.
it lacked every element Of personal
heroism! The danger was minimized by
whatever precaution ingenuity could de-
wise without depriying the public alto
gether of an opportunity for excitement
! and emotion