The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-03-22
PUGILlSM SCORED.
Rev. DR.. Herr Says the Re-
cent Fight Was a Dis
grace to Christianity.
NEW JOURNALISTS DENOUNCED
Newspapers Which Published De-
tails Of the Fight a Blot
Oh Civilization.
NEW JOURNALIST DENOUNCED

In a prelude to the regular sermon at
the First Presbyterian Church last night
| Rev. DR.. Charles Herr attacked the
New Journalism and denounced pusil-
ism in vigorous terms. His topic was
'Pugilism and Christianity"
He pictured ancient Rome in all its
glory and traced its decay to the gladia-
torial contests and other barbarous ey-
hibitions which were arranged for the
amusement of the people. He described
in graphic language q gladiatorial con-
test and continuing said
Against such a radical, frightful. in
grained brutality and w~ickedness did
Christianity make it's struggle and at last
after many lesser victories the final
death blow was given when the heroic
Telemachus, in the year 404, leaped into
the arena between the combatants and
in holy protest sacrificed his life.
Now this amelforating and civilizing
and sin opposing power of Jesus Christ
has through all the intervening genera
tions till now, and especially in the pres
ent century, been extending its sway over
human minds and impressing upon the
world the ideals of the life of love. 1t
has stimulated the growth of sympathy,
it has promoted justice, it has been teach
ing men to o v the happiness of others
and restrain their own selfish tendencies,
it has freed the slave, it has lifted woman
into consideration and honor, it has
fought brutality, violence and barbarism;
it has set its face. like a flint, against
all that opposes the universal good; it
has sought to enthrone pity, gentleness,
humanity and moral purpose in the tenn
pies where men worship and in the mar
ket places where they strive:
"Yet still after all this interval the
| effects and inherited tendencies of the
far past age of paganism and unre-
strained ~selfshness survive yet in habits
that engender only evil. passions in social
and national customs, Which are the very
absolute negative of the Gospel of the
| love of God.
sToday the principal nations of the
world are armed as they have never been
before in history and are on the very
brink of desperate and terrific war Our
own country has this week been the
theatre of a brutal and barbaric prize
fight. The encounter occurred not merely
at Carson, Nevada, but, thanks to the
| press, in every city, town n hamlet OF
| the land. In this age and country stand
ing at the end of a long development OF
! reason and morality, we return for a
space to the habits of our ancient fore
fathers, we revert to the old beastliness
| and ~depravity and watch two men, whose
only distinction is muscular development
and moral degradation, beat each other
into raw meat.
Il do not know a rational thing that
can be said in favor of such an exhi-
bition; but I do know a great deal that
can be said against it. Everything can
be said against it. 1t has no place at all
in a civilization that is based on intelll-
gence and morality. 1t is antagonissie
to every true principle of modern life.
Were there any suggestions of God inside
the ropes at Carson City last week? Were
moral principles, the love of man, the
motives, | will not say of the Gospel,
but of common humanity there? No,
it was simply and purely a spot where
two men trained for personal combat:
fought each other according to rules ana
tried to beat each other into insensi-
bility. Where the faintest symptom OF
benefit to our country comes in l am I'M
able to see; it is simply from any worthy
point of view a blot upon our land and Il
disgrace to our civilization. A black stain
upon the good name of Nevada, which
changed its laws to legalize the mill. LIE.
Nevada wipe it out in it's next Legisla-
ture. All honor be to Louisiana, Ar
kansas and Texas that refused to let this
struggle of brutes desecrate their soil.
Quick, Nevada, return to the company
of your nobler sisters.
And what shall We say of our daily
press, which pictured the fight IN all its
ton and fought it through for all the
readers of the land; the press which in
the face of a Christian public prided it
/ sell ON the IQllIeSS duu accuracy u lH6I
OF that depravity of the new journalism,
which in two particularly fragrant in
mant public indignation. There are
other newspapers besides those against
which the new crusade is being preached
that pandered to the worst elements in
the community. that fill their columns
| with the salacious and brutal and criminal,
and that no man if he prizes his own
purity and sweetness of mind ought to
read, and If he prizes the welfare of his
children ought TO admit into his home
nBIl m~glt: sbars ,S OF thu Us aoi sgga i 60 O. t axe
renaissance of barbarism. We who for
all our years have been TRAINED in high
thinking, in the gentleneSs and compare
sons and moralitzes that are the indis-
pensable conditions of a worthy and per-
manent civic and national life. We all
low ourselves ITO lay aside our morality,
our conscience and our reason and be
swept back into the barbarity and vicious
ness and debasementi. of hell-inf1amed
fore God in the sack cloth of penitence.
1T is said that Eastern business and
professional men Of standing made the
IN the enclosure to feast their morbid APP
petite with the spectacle. And in every
city multitudes crowded about the bqilIe-
tin boards of the Observation-Disclosures
of all classes, Sunday school men-yes,
and ministers even-ager to get the pro-
fessional details of the combat. That is
Certainly a picture to make the angels
weep and to make sad the Son of God.
Oh, for that tone of mind among US
which abhor brutality. which in it's ten
derness. sickens at the work of the saw
age and cruel passions of men, and turns
away r~esolutely from the evils that infest
and menace the fine life and best hope
of human society. Do we believe, my
friends. that the principles of moral good
ness, purity. urseldshness and love are
the right ideals for men and the true
and only personalities of society-then
let US stand on them, live by them, and
live for them-until the age Of gold comes
in and average man is truly brother and
the beautiful and holy city of God comes
down out of heaVenF'