The Savannah morning news., 1903-06-01
TRAGIC END
DISCUSSED FROM PULPIT BY REV.
j. A. SMITH.
THIRD LIFE SACRIFICED.
HOPES II IS BUT RUMOR THAT
CITY FATHERS ATTENDED,.

"EmuvIa from Slaughter Houses
Reaches to Heaven" He Said.
Wants to Know if Promoters of
the Bout Are Not Particeps Crimi-
mis- In Death of FeeIey-NOt "a Few
Mighty Anxious That Whereabouts
on Hateful Night Not Be Published
Abroad-Fights Made Possible
Through Mans Unrestrained Pas
siOns.
The death of George Feeley,
alias Ester. the pugilist who
died Saturday morning as the
result OF injuries received at the
hands of Jim Jeffords in a boxing
| contest held Thursday night, was the
subject OF the sermon by Rev. ]. A.
Smith. pastor of Epworth Methodist
Church. last night.
MIR. Smith took for his text Ecclesi-
astes. viii. 8: Because sentence
against all evil work is not executed
speedily, therefore the heart of the
sons of men is fully set in them to do
evil
That the sad, untimely death of
Feeley, the pugilist. at the hands of
another in this city the past week
should be allowed to go by unrebuked
in this land of gospel light and moral
REFORM" Mr.. Smith said, SIS as aston
ishing as it is humiliating and dis
! graceful. And were we to stand I'M
moved, and lOck-lipped in the pres
ence of this shocking affair the very
rocks of our streets would rise up
as our accusers. The effiuvia from
this slaughter house reaches to heaven
and pollutes the air around us 'Hor-
rible! Fearful are a few of the ex-
| pressions which have fallen from the
! lips of many since the death of Feeley.
Time to stop 1t.
Are we guiltless for having remained
| silent until this hour? Is it not rather
late to cry wolf now? And yet, may
we not cherish the hope that the three
lives sacrificed in this city the past
| twelve years in this scientific sport
may call us to a halt and cause us to
| take our bearings? Whittier are we
| drifting? is not a question of an idle
| moment. Why the existence of this
evil in our midst? Who are RESPONSE
| BILE for it? Are not the promoters. and
attendants upon this fight particeps
| criminis in the death of this man?
| Is there no law and men under oath
to execute it, whereby this class of
sport can be stopped?
I'm many sections of this country the
prize fighter and his followers are
counted as outlaws. and the strong
arm of the law is exercised so vigor-
ously that these men dare not attempt
to pull off a fight Just here I recall
| that few years ago a noble, Chris
tian gentleman-a delegate to the
Southern Baptist Convention recently
held in our city-with the power in
vested in him, drove from the Dor
ders of this state a crowd who were
preparing to engage in one of these
! brutal contests. For this he was Carl
catured, Knocked and despised by a
gang of outlaws who were made to
respect the dignity of the law.
Bantams Too Tame.
This mania is the logical outcome
of mans unbridled. unrestrained de-
sire for sport at any cost. In the be-
ginning of these prize fights in the
city, it was announced that two ban
tamweights would engage in a scien-
tifc boxing contest for points. This
soon became altogether too tame for
some-the real thing was wanted.
Bring out some of the big fellows
was the cry Well, they have had
them. I suspect that there are not a
few who are mighty anxious that their
Whereabouts on this fateful night be
not published abroad.
IT sincerely trust that there is no
truth in the rumor that among the
yelling, hooting crowd that saw the
| California fighter swing back his
mighty right as Feeley, dazed, blind
ed, and crazed with pain tottered for
ward to receive the terrific lick which
resulted in his death. were a number
of our city fathers, drawn hither by
the use of dead head tickets. Surely
this is a mistake.
1--WE can't bring back the three who
have gone down to death as victims to
mans desire for the exciting, the
brutal, and the perpetuation of the
spirit which has made possible the
bull fights in heather countries. But
we can rise up and enter a long, loud,
solemn protest against the recurrence
of this kind of sport in our midst
again.
Records of History.
Before you lift a finger to put this
or any other destructive force in ex-
istence pause. reflect and learn some
lessons from the past. Read the pages
of ancient and modern history which
chronicle not only the downfall of in
dividuals, but nations which have gone
down in shame, blood and degrade
ton, as a result of mans unrestrained
passions. The great Pompey, the proud
Tarquin, the conquering Alexander, the
bloody Nero, the ambitious Caesar and
the exiled Bonaparte fell beneath the
piercing arrows of unbridled sin and
folly. The debris which marks the
ruin of fallen cities silently and SOL
emily tell us of greatness. power and
glory dethroned and buried in disgrace
and oblivion because of mans unre
strained passion for the low, the bru-
tai and the sensual From such fate
good Lord save us as individuals and