Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-03-14
BRUTALITY IN SPORT
!" Private Mills" the Fad in
New York.
Heightened PATRONS
COCK FIGHTING AND RAT BAIT
ING POPULAR, TOO.
Dog Fighting Also Growing More
Common-Probable Effect of Vigor-
GUS Anti-Gambling Law.
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

/ SSS xAAASA-00hA0AAA6 60"s
| Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
NEW YORK, March Is, 1903
| Public boxing is dead in New York, but
private milling certainly is not. 1t is
a, rare night upon which a private go"
| Is not pulled or somewhere on Manhat-
tan Island between siugging bantams or
| light weights, with audiences composed OF
turfmen. dead games" of all degrees with
the price and men about town. This pri-
vate milling" game came into existence
when the professional puncherS of ability
| killed the goose that laid the golden eggs
| by their shameless taking on repeated &C.
| casiens in the presence Of tens of thou
sands Of swindled spectators at the Madi-
son Square Garden, thus causing the abro
cation Of the Horton law which permitted
public boxing contests. It has proved
mighty profitable for the chaps who have
| taken it up as a money-makng enter
prise. The fellows with bank rolls who
sit around the Broadway hotels, looking
bored, up to certain hour every night,
| had to have their regular peek at fights
| else suffer certain goneness of feeling
and anguish of mind. Then the loft
| fights began They have been in progress
| for a couple Of years now, but the police
| don't appear to know or care. Once in a
great while the principals participating In
| a private scrap of this character are pull
| ed" generally by police captains placed In
new precincts who are looking for records
| for themselves, but such happenings Go not
make so much as small dent In the prog
ress of the game.
Whenever one happens to come into pos
| session Of a card announcing Pink tea
at Maloney's Hall On such and such
date. or ironic words Of a similar charac-
| ter, he knows that the affair Is going to
| be a scrap to a finish between a couple
of bullet heads tout for blood" The fell
| lows who arrange these fights work the
| hotels and fashionable bar rooms exclusive
| ly. They give out the quiet tip that on
certain night there's going to be go
hill-"two boys that are dead sore on each
other because they're both stuck on the
same goil," is a frequent appendix to the
| tip-and then all Of the hot sports and
like to be known as men about town begin
| to inquire for tickets. The tickets are
forthcoming not very long after the tip
has been given out. They are g ger .niy
| of boys are particularly sore on each
other over "a goii.'' thus making it GER
| tain that they are going to do the very
best they know how to slaughter each
| other In the presence Of the audience, the
| tickets command SO. No trouble what
| ever is found by the projectors OF these
| private mills in selling the tickets-indeed,
their difficulty is often to stave of re-
| quests for tickets, on account OF the limited
room Of the lofts or halls in which the
fights are pulled off.
| The Lust for Amusement.
A visit to one Of these private fights is
| instructive. as showing how far New YORK
! men-a large sprinkling Of them men with
| reputations-wiH go in their search for
| Amusement" There is an amazing alb
sence- of the toughs with sweaters and
| pear-shaped heads around these private
ring sides. Easily four ont OF Oh, nve OF .ne
| IN evening clothes. You will see men at
| these secret scraps. many OF them elderly
whose names are notable In the pro1es-
| sional and financial spheres of New YORK
| Tammany politicians-yea. and reform poll
| ticians and NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. their vision
| over the blood-soaked boys and root TOT
| their favorites. Bookmakers who wave
yellow bills of large denominations IN the
air, representatives of the 'openin' wine
| fraternity, actors whose physiognomies are
| known everywhere. brush elbows with eacn
| other, drink in happy comradeship out OF
| each others rear-pocket TASKS, and discuss
| the points Of the young brutes who on the
| raised platform endeavor to thump each
other into dismal-looking pulps. The
amount Of betting that goes on around tne
| are digging into their wallets at every
| stage of the performance ana haunting
| their currency in the smoky atmosphere
| Men who have achieved public regulations
| for the dignity of manner shrek encour-
arement to the fighters. These battles al
| ways take place in lofts or halls In DARK
and obscure corners of the town. SO that
no restraint Is placed upon the vocal pow
ers of the auditors.
| PUT him to sleep in this round, Jimmy,
and I'll give you a hundred, medical
man Of mature years and national reputa-
| tIon was heard to bawl the other night in
encoura cement of a scrapper who mad his
man going" Hand him a floating rib,"
SOAK him in the Stats" Now you've got
1 III h 40
map in KNOCK his block off'-these are
the kind Of encouraging howls that are be-
| slowed upon the toughs in the ring by men
! who are actually accused, some OF them, OF
possessing ''the literary habit In their or
| binary public conversation.
No Science in These Bouts.
| In none Of these fights is any Of the so
called ..science. of the prize-ring exhibited.
| The .sboys'' are In all cases sluggers pure
| and simple who have been taught only the
hare rudinents of the boxing game by the
| projectors of the fights. The stories circu-
| lated as to their enInity toward each other
| ara often true The hackers OF the fighters
| stir I'D rows between the young fellows in
advance of the fights so as to make them
| fight the more savagely when they get into
the ring and thus give the crowds their
| moneys worth" Usually there are three
| bouts a night. On a recent occasion, how
ever. two Of the bouts had to be postponed
because the nghterS III the urst go nam
mered away at each other from 10 o'clock
until after midnight. Skin-tight gloves are,
as a rule, worn by these smuggling lads, and
the punishment that they inflict each
|. other is too sickening to be described
Fouls of all kinds go. 1t Is a common
thing for an enraged young scrapper in one
of these contests who is getting the worst
Of 1t to bury his teeth in the other fellows
neck but the referee doesn't take any no
tice of such little matters. He Is there to
see that the boys" keep at 1t until one or
the other is out" and his main concern is
to heap scornful abuse upon fighter who
looks scared and inclined to shirk the bat
tle The lads who engage In these affairs
receive pitiably small sums from the back
ers of the fights. The winner usually counts
himself lucky IL he gets as much as $25, and
the loser finds a $40 note ample balm for his
sore pummeling, and yet with spectators to
the number of from 800 to 500 at IS or $40
a head, it will be seen how much the crafty
projectors Of the fights make out of them