The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-04-14
POLICE STOP
PRE- FIGHTS
Gov. Van SAINT Spells cath
letic Night" Planned by
Guardsmen.

Police interference prevented the
! presentation of an elaborate athletic
| night" programme by the members of
Camp Merritt, of the Army of the
Philippines, at the armory last night.
Gov. Van SAINT was responsible for
the hitch in the arrangements.
The athletic programme arranged by
the Spanish war veterans Included
several prize fights. and the sale of
tickets disclosed this fact to a num-
Der of the citizens. Yesterday dele
cation of ministers called upon Gov.
Van SAINT and protested against the
announced prize fights. The governor
notified Mayor Smith and Chief O'Con-
nor, and the men in charge of the
arrangements were informed that the
fights would not be permitted.
The fact that the authorities had
interfered was announced yesterday
afternoon. but hoping against hope.
the local sports to the number of 1900
crowded their way into the armory
last night. Tickets were taken at the
door, and one-half of each ticket was
returned to the holder, with inStruc-
lions to retain the stub. Nothing was
said of any hitch in the plans, and
the crowd had almost succeeded in
convincing itself that the governor had
been called off when Manager Will
Peterson. acting for the Merritt camp.
climbed into the ring at the conclu-
sion of the first wrestling bout and
announced that the organization would
attempt to carry out its programme
unless stopped.
Manager Peterson was almost imme-
diately followed by Charlie De Witt,
who informed the crowd that the fights
had been ordered off. and that the man
agement had arranged number of
wrestling bouts. Manager Peterson
then informed the purchasers of tick
cts that if not satisfied with the en-
tertainment, they could secure their
money at the box office. Two or three
hundred took advantage of the offer,
the others remaining for the wrestling
matches
In the wrestling Steve Koen, of the
Amateur Athletic association, met Leo
Hassin, of the Lafayette Athletic club,
in three en-minute bouts. Koen won
the third bout and the match in eight
and a half minutes.
A ffteen-m minute bout between Jim
McAuley, of the Amateur Athletic as
ISOLATION, and Hugh Mcmahon, one of
the lighters secured for the wind-up
that was called off, was next announc-
ed. McAuley won in ten minutes.
The action of the governor will prove
a hard blow to the Camp Merritt men,
as they had planned this entertainment
in an endeavor to raise funds to en-
terrain the Spanish war veterans who
will be in st. Paul this fall as dele
gates to the national convention, to
be held here. 90 7- tes-
The fact that the fights were planned
for this worthy purpose, and the addi-
tional fact that there was no hint of
any interference until the last minute,
induced the soldier boys to invest a
considerable portion of the funds al
ready on hand, and the fizzle of last
night will cost them at least $40O. If
notified one week ago by the governor
they would have been able to notify
the fighters engaged and escape the
transportation and training expenses.
A few disgruntled ones, fearing the
loss of the money expended for the
fight tickets limited last night that the
Camp Merritt men were a party to the
plan to prevent the fights, and that
they knew the. governor would inter-
fere.
This claim is not believed by the
fair-minded sports, and the general
opinion expressed at the armory last
night was that the soldier boys had
worked hard to bring off the fights,
and that they had earned the money
collected by the advance sale of tick
cts. The wrestling programme lasted
one hour and a half and this salts
fed the ones who remained.