The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1905-02-27
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you can fool part of the people
all of the time and all of the peo-
pie part of the time, but you can't
fool all of the people all of the time"
If there Is one place hiatt these
famout words of Abraham Lincoln
apply more than any other, it is in
the wrestling and fighting game.
However, in the former branch of
sport it is hard for the opponents to
realize the truth of it and this prob
ably accounts for the ebb of the great
sport in many localities.
Wrestling as sport is interesting.
In fact, there are people I have met
who would sooner see good mat
contest than n fight. And If the
followers of the mat did not overdo
the fool" part of it, believe today
wrestling would flourish in nearly
every city of the country.
The opportunity to fool" how
ever. is so great that the wrestlers
forget the end of Lincoln's famous
all of the time.
This will not do. as they have
found out. Probably the best exam
pie of fool the public" I ever heard
of was a wrestler who Travelled with
a theatrical company as a champion
Of the world.
He, like most of the meet all
| corners" wrestlers, had a partner who
travelled with him. Probably the
first night he would meet local
man. He would issue challenge to
anyone in the house, and before any,
one else had time to think, up would
pop a well built little fellow with a
French accent.
Il am the champion of Greece and
| will meet you" he would say.
OF course his tongue was enough
to give him away. but the people
didn't take time to consider that.
He would be given the first chance.
The next day the papers would give
the champion" credit for throwing
the champion of Greece, and in less
than two weeks he would throw the
champion wrestler OF every country
in the world. However, he would
be meeting the same man who was
travelling with him and who could
put up a great exhibition.
Two wrestlers can go on the mat
and for Is minutes the best critic
can not detect the least bit of fraud.
Sometimes the whole match can go
on without the least sign of fake.
This is especially true of the little
men.
In the fight game 1t Is different.
Only the most expert mitt artist can
get away with a limited round bout
which has been fixed. 1t is no easy
thing for a fellow to fall down
when he has been hit n light tap
without giving the whole thing away,
and when two men who have planned
a bunco get going they often forget
all preliminary arrangements.
In wrestling this seldom happens,
for there is always a counter to work
for nearly every hold. In the fight
game when a blow is landed, even If
the intention back of it is only to
fool the public, it sometimes reaches
home and puts an end to all the pre-
arranged ideas.
Comparing the two sports from the
standpoint of the spectator, / am
not entirely able to judge which
would be the most popular If both
were entirely on the square.
Wrestling surely develops some
extremely exciting moments, and
often holds the audience more in
tensely than a fight would Take two
big fellows that are after each other
every minute. They are usually of
! the highest type of physical develop
ment and their condition is probably
superior to fighter who might be
taking part in an equally important
battle. In fact, the good features are
| so many that it is impossible to emu
merate them here.
In the fighting game the men are
| at II fro mthe start, and the specta
| tor does not have to wait so long
| for the climax. But the fact that
you can tell very early in the battle