The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1910-07-21
Getting Over a Spree
rom The RelIgIous Herald

]
the whole incident holds.
1t Is distinctly depressing 10 observe
how thin is the veneer which covers or
, is supposed TO cover our boosted civilt-
zation. II was TO be expected, OF course.
I that a certain element OF our people
struggle between the two big and bru-
| tai men whose names, weights, APP
past histories have filled secular dailies
and few magazines of lower grade
for weeks and even months past: That
was taken for granted and duly dis
counted. What has been, however, q
matter of surprise was the vast num-
folk who suffered themselves to be-
come tremendously excited over the re-
suit. Even here In staid, conservative
on Capitol Square, the place Of so many
| historic and heroic memories, on the
! day which is forever associated with
the birth OF the nation, and listened
with breathlesS eaRerneSS while a rep
resentative Of our only morning daily.
! a paper Justly esteemd for it's COMPARE
| tive cleanness and independence. yelled
through megaphone the bulletins from
and boy-and there were hundreds of
boys in that gathering-that the Ne
night occurred occur was 'G fun 'i of the Widest
thugs had focked there from ali the
ing known TO the fraternity was in
full blast. that the saloons were open
night and day and drunken men were
Jostling one another on the streets.
Perhaps never before were there gath
cred in one place so many persons OF
unsavory reputation, so many who were
known to the public only for their bad
eminence in wickedness. One would
would look upon that place as a sort
or plague spot, and upon the occasion
one wholly deplorabIe. That their do
ings and sayings, their predictions and
prophecies should interest any large
OF amazing. Yet IL is not too much to
say, II one may Judge from the outward
demonstration. that the great majority
of our people were far more Interested
J I'm the outcome OF tnss physical strug-
! fbev 1890 a. ~ ~ nuindn Drutes than
! lions OF Independence Day.
What is the significance Of this state
mere physical strength and proves,
putting It above the higher and hoIier
nation of the extraordinary conditions
a. a. which we are limiting is in the in
we are aware. not a single daily of
importance in the United States has
TO feature" this barbaric fight. Even
the cleanest and best of these papers
have printed apparently every rumo1
| ABOUT either of the fighters, every bit
| of gossip about the promoters, the
names OF all the alleged sports who at
that carried these gentry to the place
or the struggle. in some Instances even
| were stocked
with wines and supplied with RambIinT-
apparatus and the like. For weeks past
one would find in his favorite morning
daily on the front page. on the EDITORIAL
| page, on the sporting page, in the local
news, in the telegraphic news, any-
where and everywhere, some references
| more or less extended to the approac On
\ ing fight in Nevada.
T., The great topics OF permanent human
| interest took back seat. The reIa-
lions OF nations to one another, the vast
political forces that are in conflict
eign lands, the great phiIanthropic.
! educational and benevolent enterprises
many and which hold in them so much
OF promise for the race, great themes
OF moral and social significance were
handed TO relative obscurity while the
Hon. Mr.. Jeffries and the Hon. Mr..
Johnson took the front OF the stage.
| They were pictured for us in every
| pose and attitude, with their brutal
faces and their half-nude bodies. We
! were told what they were eating and
drinking, who were their associates and
councillors. who cooked for them.
| MODELLING, and etc II one of them had
a hangnail. II was duly reported The
Inond en,terprising' dailies printed al
| the principals, usually a lot of stun
That had neither sense nor reason in il.
III all this miserable rot-we beg par
don FOR the word. but there is no other
tS hts the case-had been put on
so much ground for complaint. for one
could quietly have laid that aside Ruf
no reader OF the secular newspapers
business, for like some contagion II
was spread all over the paper.
| We know, or course. that IT can said
and will be said that our secular pa
wphst mere mere simply simply giving the people
much truth in the defense. SIN IL re-
mains true also that in ministering
10 TINS unhealthy state of the public
MIND MIND our newspapers as a rule seemed
deliberately to stimulate IL. And So
the whole country. with, OF course
many thousands, and tens OF tbousanJSs
ana hundreds of thousands of good peo-
pie excepted, went on a wild orgie OF
furious and unwholesome' excitement.
awakened on the 5th of July win q
sense OF shame and depression closely
sinateS INA ma Mhlch we imagine the dis
sIpateo ieeI when the fires OF unnatural
lntoXication die out. What an oppor-
tunity there was for some of our great
commanding datlies in the interest of
decencN and morality to stand ont
against this kind of thing. we do not
| mean to be unreasonable we COLD
| hardly expect them to ignore entirely
an incident in which their readers feIt
SO much interested. but at any rate
relations. Surely the owners and eSie
| tors or these great molders of public
simply to follow the popular bent and
i LOT the sake of the gain which it prom
m 19ei0da deW51b a debauch the public
Is voice in the Wilderness and q fee
PIE voice. too, not likely to make itself
heard above the cries and the clamor Of
the hour; nevertheless we utter our
Another feature of this brutal affair
deserves notice. Thoughtful students
or our situation In this country more
particularly in the South, have known
! TOT long time that in the Relations
OF the races we have a problem of sur
passing Importance. No one can tell
just now ii will be solved It's dim
Guttles are supreme, its embarrass
menus, social, domestic, political are
| beyond description. We can oniv See
our way for step or two ahead. For
| the present all that the wisest can snT
gest Is mutual kindness. the forbeaH-
ance or the strong toward the weak
patience, Christian charity This Ne
Vada prize fight would have been bad
enough II two white brutes had fought
or II two black brutes had been in the
struggle, but with white brute and a
plack brute fighting one another. 70
gtther with the unutterable folly OF
Whlcn our newspapers have been cuiItv
IN printing repeatedly statements to the
enect mat II was a sort of typical
struggle OF the races, that the neero
Was the champion" of his people, and
mat the white man was the "hope ~
ms race, the consequent excitement.