Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1910-06-09
Views AfoOt
IowA's CLAIM TO FAME

IOWA'S CLAIM TO FAME
Iowa has got into the limelight again,
and the eyes of her neighbors are upon
her.
To begin with, she is the only one of
the great sisterhood of states, whose
population has decreased during the
last ten years. Every other state ac-
cording to the figures given out, has
increased in population during the de-
cade, and in some cases the gains have
been notably large. Only Iowa has
gone backward.
The worst of it is that there doesn't
seem to be any really good and satisfac-
tory explanation at hand. Just why
are Iowa people scattering and over
running other sections instead of re-
naming at home? They may be found
in droves and throngs in Nebraska and
the Dakotas, in Kansas and California,
and Oregon and Canada. In fact Iowa,
like England, seems to have become q
sort OF colonizing center, from which
the great West and Northwest are
drawing their manhood and woman
hood. Of course, everyone knows that
that the men and women we are fur
nishing to these newer sections are
strictly first class in every respect and
th at we have every reason to be proud
of them. Still, even this comforting
reflection doesn't quite set our minds at
ease after seeing Iowa advertised as the
one state in the Union that is tagging
behind in population.
However, this may be minor mat
ter. Iowa is in the spotlight this week
because Of the achievements of Frank
Gotch of Humboldt, the greatest wrest-
ler in the world. Of course, Gotch has
been champion of the world for some
time and has become sort of marvel
to followers of the wrestling game.
He is a tremuously, powerful man and
moves while on the mat, about like
chain lightning Added to this, he is
Science and Skill incarnate.
Never before has the world been sif-
ted and searched for wrestlers as DUR
ing the last two or three years in the
effort to find a man who could defeat
Gotch. And finally zbysczko, the
giant Polish grappler, came forward to
turn the trick,
They met last week in Chicago and
Zbysczko appeared to be little more
than a plaything in Gotch's hands. In
fact the Iowa mans superiority was so
marked and the struggle SO one sided
thatit was uninteresting. And the
result is that Gotch is about to become
| regarded as the greatest wrestler of all
the ages.
| OF course, he is merely wrestler and
in the eyes of many, wrestling is sin.
But even this doesn't alter the fact that
he is from Iowa and has given Iowa
more advertising than any other man
in it. And besides this, it is something
to be the greatest in the world at any
thing, and to be the greatest in all
human history is better still.
But why is wrestling so bad?
Frank Gotch is nearly perfect spec.
linen of the physical man, and most of
the rest of us are 'runts.n In this res
pect he is the greatest of us all,-and
physical perfection is something after
all Moreover, there is hardly another
pastime that will produce the physical
development that comes from wrest-
ling.
We strive to develop more perfect
types Of poultry, and hogs, and horses.
But we are content with inferior men
and women. And we frown upon
those things which tend to the physi-
cal perfection of the human species.
Why not encourage the boys to
wrestle?