The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-02-25
GO. S|IER IND YIN SAINT
THE REFEREE TELLS OF HIS CALL
on THE CHIEF EXECU-
TIVE.
MADE THE LATTER FEEL GOOD.
Used 10 Do Little Boxing
Himself, So He Has No Pre-
judice Against the
Game.

Prof. George Siler's recent call on Gov.
Van SAINT is described by him in the Chi
Cago Tribune of yesterday as follows:
Minnesota, which has been dead, pugi-
liStically speaking, for about ten years.
resurrected itself for a few days this
week; then crawled into it's grave again
1t made its appearance on the pugilistic
earth couple of weeks ago at Mime
apolis when Tommy Ryan knocked out
Frank Scott under the name of Judge.
That bout was supposed to be powerful
enough to keep the pugilistic corpse
alive. And 1 really belive it was if the
Y. NJ. c. A. had not requested Gov. Van
SAINT to kill it again.
While the Ryan-Scott-Judge contest
was pending several parties interested
in pugilism and the financial end of the
sport matched Ole Olson and Young Mo-
watt Tom Cody and Harry Forbes and
Morris R2uSch and Jack O'Keefe-they
had everything cut and dried-and in
formed the contestants and their manag-
ers that the authorities from the gov
ernor down, were in favor of the sport
If handled with care. They secured the
Exposition building, billed the cities of
Mlnneap oiis and st. Paul, and had every
thing in apple-pie order. Unfortunately
there happened to be a convention of the
Y. NJ. c. A. at Mankato, a little town
outside Of Minneapolis and the promo
terS had not interviewed them regarding
the contests.
Whether that would have helped mat
terS any | am not at liberty to state.
at any rate the Y. NJ. c. A. did not
want the fair name of the state of Min
nesota detained by pugilism, called Gov.
Van SAINTS attention to the proposed
contests and requested him to prevent
them. The promoters had received a
permit from Mayor Ames, of Minneapo-
lis, and naturally thought that was all
they required. The governor, however
took the bull by the horns and notified
the mayor not to permit the contests
This brought on wo-dy tilt between
the governor and the mayor, and the lat
ter announced he would stop all athletic
games wherein life AMI limb were in dan
ger. IN his manifesto he included foot
ball baseball, basketball and bicycling,
and went so far as to instruct the chief
Of police TO prevent those games.
The sports naturally took sides with
the mayor, While the Y. NJ. c. A. and
the clergy patted the governor on the
back
L was selected to referee the bouts. and
dropped into Minneapolis on the after
noon Of the night the contests were to
have taken place. Mayor Ames was
piqued ANA did not mince his words while
raking the governor over the Goals. He
said the lovers Of boxing were as much
entitled TO their branch of sport as were
those who fancied football and other
games. Eeing so near the capital of the
state, I thought I would take a run down
TO st. Paul and have a chat with the gov
ernor. / found him at the Aberdeen
hotel ana had 40 difficulty in securing
an interview In fact the governor was
extremely cordial and little inclined to
flattery. Every man, woman and child
in the United States knows of you," he
declared, so why should I not consider
1t a pleasure to meet you?"
When L asked him why he prevented
the boxing contests he said:
TO be frank with you, Siler,' he said
'they are unlawful, and as the executive
officer of the state l must enforce the
law
why did You not stop the Ryau-Julge
Contest?" 1 asked.
"Recause knew nothing Of it and had
not the Y. NJ. c. A. folks. the ministers,
and others called my attention to the
prize fights that were to be held tonight
/ would have known nothing Of them
There was no intention of pulling off
prize fights, governor; merely boxing
matches l suggested.
You may term them boxing matches,
Siler, but scores of persons come to me
and say: Governor, they are prize
fights. II they were not there would be
1iO iltCU ltE OtOISS SIleI. YOU can Oe-
pend upon it, governor They say that
whenever George Siler appears upon the
scene there will be prize fight. -
tried TO explain the difference between
a prize light and a boxing contest AMI
that 1 had been engaged to prevent brI-
tality -End knockOuts; also that the boys
engaged to box We're featherWeights and
well scienced.
That may be true, Siler, but boxing
matches, according to the law which was
amended in 1893, are unlawful, and there,
fore must be prohibited. l am lover OF
good boxing, and l assure you I would
not prevent these contests had my at
tention not been called to them. [ am
not spying around the state looking for
prize fights, and I have so much other
business to look after 1 do not find time
to read the sporting columns of the
papers. Our laws against boxing may be
bad, but nevertheless they must be en-
forced, and by enforcing them the peo-
pie can judge for themselves whether
they should or ought to be amended"
Gov. Van SAINT talked intelligently OF
old time prize lighters, such as Tom
Hyer, Yankee Sullivan, John Morrissey
and John c. Heeman, and the high
esteem in which he held them when he
was yOungster.
Il boxed some when I was a young fel.
low, and was considered pretty good, if
I do say it myself, but 1 am too stout
to box now, even though were so in
clined," he declared.
WILL HELP GOOD ROADS.