The San Francisco call., 1897-03-02
BILL TO SUPPRESS
PRzE-FIGHTMG
as .s
Far : Reaching Measure
Suddenly Sprung in
the House. !.
Aims at Indecent and Sensa-
tional Papers by Closing
the Mails.
Strong Pleas Are Made for Its En-
actment-A Vote to Be Tak,n
D.
o.Day.


= the House to-day Cannon (R.) OF Illinois
presented the sundry civil appropriation
bill and moved that the Senate amend
ments be disagreed to and conference on
the differences be requested. he SAID
there were some 1872 of these amendments,
and if there were sufficient time he would
move 10 90 into committee of the whole,
and give one. two, three or four days for
their discussion. The motion of Mr.. Can
I; non was agreed to and the bill was Or
? :<dered to conference.
Senate amendment to the postotfice ap-
L@propriation bill was disagreed to and
- conference on the bill was requested.
-: Senate amendment to the bill providing
!: for the sale of opium seized by the Gov:
= eminent was also disagreed to and q con-
ference asked. =
~. Senate amendment 10 the bill providing
!; for a bridge across the Mississippi River
: near 81. Louis, No., was concurred in and
:: the conference report on The bill to pre-
!. vent: trespassing on National military
:<y parks was agreed to.
= A bill repeating that section of the law
f. providing for sending to Washington by
especial messenger Presidential election
r: certificates was passed after an explana-
>'tion by Mercer (R.) of Nebraska that these
certificates could as well be sent by mail
:or express. as the present system was
l.. costly. .
- Senate joint resolution authorizing the
|: President to detail an army officer as
r. military instructor in a school of the
:: Greater Republic of Central America was
l.. passed.
- The Senate billEto extend the use of the
|: malls to postal-cards and envelopes owned
t by the United States Economic Postage
= As sociation was laid on the table.
-. Aldrich (R.) of Illinois called up'the
L; .anti-prize-fght bill. The measure pro-
.yides that no picture or description of any
i price-fght or encounter of pugilists under
r: whatever name. or any proposal or record
j: of betting on the same, shall be trans
mitted In the mails of the United States or
by interstate commerce, whether in a
= newspaper or other periodical or telegram,
:: or in any other form.
/. :. Section provides that ''any person
- sending such matter or knowingly receiv--
ing such matter for transmission by mail
:. or interstate commerce should be dee med
= guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be
90. punish able by imprisonment for not more
.*than five years in the discretion of the
; court or by fine not exceeding $1,000"
:: Aldrich. in supporting the measure,
- said that ali the States OF the Union save
zone or two, forbid prize fights, which have
been sent to the limbo of condemned
=. customs with dueling, slavery, lotteries
:: and polygamy.
Z. The bill, ne said, simply protected the
= more advanced States, which have forbid
:: den pugIlism as brutal and brutalizing,
against having prizefghts brought into
q: their borders in pictures and desert ptions,
(which are only little less harmful than
: the degrading sport which they describe.
The bill did not forbid a brief statement
=. of the fight as matter of news.
b. Congress- in its swiftest enactment for
babe prize-hght;ng in its whole jurisdic-
= ton, and drove a prospective fight an
=: nounced to occur in one of its Territories
into the mountains of Mexico, which Gov
eminent has also forbidden it. This bill
is but logical extension and protection
of that act, and is in accord also with an
other. act of this Congress, approved by
:: this committee and since enacted into
+ law, prohibiting the interstate transporta-
tion of obscene pictures.
Pictures of the brutality OF pugilism
. are hardly less harmful to our youth The
bill is in accord also with the anti-divorce
act of Congress, which has protected the
=. families OF the whole land against the
:. divorce colonies" of one of the Terri
:iories. This bill calls for immediate con-
sideration for manifest reasons. 1t is
believed the reputable press, which de-
--scribes prizefig ghts=only because of compe-
tition, will welcome this protection.
Morse (R.) of Massachusetts advocated
% the passage OF the measure. He was piled
with questions, and in reply to one he
said that he hoped that the outcome of
the fight would be that it would be tele-
lgrapned over the country that the two
brutes had killed each other. -.
Grosvenor tR.( of Ohio favored the bill.
Foote Or. of New York asked if 1T was
thought that the passage of this bill
would prohibit the printing and circula-
tion of the tale OF the fght between David
and Goliah.
Dockery (D.) of Missouri opposed prize
fights. but considered this an extraordin-
ary proposition. 1t was censorship on
the press. If it was done it could be ex-
tended to details OF murder and other
crimes
Cummings CD of New York considered
it very dangerous ground, and said that it
could be made to prevent sending through
the mails hundreds of books now in print
with pictures in them.
Hepburn (R.) of Iowa defended the
measure. holding that it would not prove
a censorship on the press.
Quigg moved to adjourn, pending which
Dockery moved to lay the bill on the
table. Quigg withdrew his motion and
Payne moved to take recess. Payne
withdrew that motion and. the Speaker
put the question fer the third reading OF
the bill. The vote resulted: Ayes S..
noes So. 20,
Aldrich demanded the ayes and noes on
the question and they were ordered
Pending the rohcall Grosvenor moved to
refer the bill to the judiciary Com mittee,
but it was rejected.
A motion by Mr.. Cannon for recess
lnntil tomorrow m orning was agreed to.
This leaves the prIze-fight bill in the same
positioH-the ayes and noes being ordered
on the motion 60 lay it on the takle. :.