The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-09-05
Judge Harmon's devotion to law, or

Judge Harmon's devotion to law, or
der and right civil conduct was never
better exempllied than in his volun-
tary aid in behalf OF the good name
and the honor Of the state OF Ohio,
when more than all others, he upheld
J the hands of the late Governor Nash
in preventing the Jeffries. .Rhulin prize
fight in 1901.
His action in that case was typical
Of the man and OF his exalted ideals
of public duty. ohlo's soil had never
been desecrated by the grosser in.
famies of the prize ring. In this case
of the state against the promoters OF
the Jeffries.R .Rhulin fight, to enjoin
them from holding the contest, Judge
Harmon, associated with other distin-
! guished counsel, presented what all
| admitted was one of the most master.
full arguments ever made by a lawyer
in case of the kind His argument
in that case still stands as model
of eloquence. logic and high moral
conviction. II rings true to the man.
Among other things he said.
Gentlemen on the other side have
lauded athletics, and so do |. But IL
athletics are to make men brutes
and prlze-fghters, 1t is time to call a
halt upon them. II writing is to lead
man to forgery, he should not be
taught to write. II reading is to turn
his mind into a sewer, and his heart
and soul Into receptacle for filth,
instead. OF opening to him the way to
higher aims and higher views OF life,
and OF men and events, he should not
be taught to read. II ladies are to
be taught to dance, does 1t follow that
they should attend concert hall and
public dances? Let the gentlemen
think Of the point to which their eu.
logies OF athletics are leading them
and they will move more slowly.
"And they decry what they are
pleased to call our resort to the 'px.
traordlnary' remedy OF calling in the
aid of the state. But this is an ex-
traordinary case, the like OF which
has never been reported in the books
of law. A private nuisance is one
which affects a private individual.
while public nuisance Is the concern
OF no one In particular but of the pub
lie in general-that is, the state, and
therefore we called In the aid OF the
state. IL COMMUNICATING
smell Affects the aesthetic nostrils OF
the gentlemen who promote prize
fights and May festivals. the power
OF the state may be invoked, but
when something comes to contain
mate the purity of life, the good or.
der, the decency OF the city, these
gentlemen cry aloud with one voice,
and demand that the arm OF the chan
cellor be stayed.
These gentlemen say they want to
hold this contest to pay off the saen-
gerfest Indebtedness. Was there ever
bank clerk or a collector who took
the money of the bank or his employ
ers who did not give the same ex.
cuse? He commits the crime because
he needs the money, and the men to
whom he should look for staunch up.
holding OF the law. band themselves
together with debased and debasing
element because they, too, need the
money to pay their debts. They have
formed criminal partnership for the
purpose OF paying Off their indebted
ness just as everybody who commits
a crime offers as an excuse that he
needed the money"
At this point Judge Harmon graph.
ically described the train OF evils that
follow in the wake of prize fight.
Continuing. he said:
The court must look to things that
threaten to afilict society. Brady
says If one OF these two men should
be killed he wouldn't feel as though
his hands We're bloody. | know this
court would be unwilling to take upon
its shoulders so dread responsible
ity."
Answering the contention that to
prevent the fight would work a finan-
~cial hardship to the promoters OF the
match, Judge Harmon said: why
limit the oDerations of the club TO
this one event? There are other
debts. than the debts OF these gentle
men to pay. The debt on the South.
ern railroad is botherlng the city
somewhat. Why not keep up the
drawing OF these crowds and give
prize fights and pay off the debt Of
the city for the Southern road?"
AT this point Judge Harmon refer
red to the mob spirit and the martyr.
dom of Captain John j. Desmond. who
fell before the rioters in 1884. Con.
cluding, he said:
Judge Peck has told us that we,
too, may become martyrs II we do not
pause in our efforts. Very
well have lived too long and have
taken too great a part in public and
private affairs torbe deferred by what
threats may be made. | am not a
hero, but II martyrdom in the line OF
duty is to come II will come at the
hands Of thugs brought here because
of this contest. to be given to pay the
debts of the promoters of the saen.
gerfest and the prize fight"
Commenting on Judge Harmon's ar
gument in this case the Cincinnati
Commercial Tribune sald "a mag