The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-07-02

vital, red-blOoded fighting human pelng
whom we welcomed.
The Anglo-Saxon loves a fighter, and we
know. that our most prominent citizen
was one Of that sort He Hikes a battle
and he will give combat at any mark
Ia the road He viii swap wallops in the
halls of the Senate or the gloomy depths
OF an African forest as the rostrum OF
England's greatest university, or in the
rope squared ring. He IS a regular hui
man man, and his country loves him
for IL.
On Way to Reno.
OF all these fellows who slowly baked
their soles on Manhattan's blIstering
asphalt that day waiting for a
sight Of Roosevelt, the man. the big
voiced. deep ehested nine-tenths are
either on their way TO Reno to-day or
want 20 come. and the high-domed, be-
specialized one-tenth who looked upon
him as, a President and law giyer are
raising their voices against prize fighting
and pointing the finger OF scorn at Ne
yRda. We claim 10 be a nation ruled by
majority.
Our civic spirit is rent and our democ-
racy is goaded TO fury at the mere sug-
gestion that hated minority holds the
reins OF government and shapes our laws
for its own protection, yet prize fighting
| Is governed in Just that way.
| The submerged nlne-tenths has allowed
Itself to be swamped and the voice OF
the one-tenth has made pugilism a felony
| in every state except Nevada. ] do not
think 1 exaggerate when ! say that out
Inf haQ n
male voters. nine would like 10 see a
good square prize fight. and not only
would those nine like to witness the spec
tacie. but out Of their number there would
/ be FIVE. at least. who would pawn their
shirts for the price Of a ring-side seat.
! ] do not set myself up 70 say that these
men are right or wrong. morally 'ex-
cellent or depraved. but. nevertheless, the
/ percentage holds. It is not a theory, II
is a condition. and acknowledging that
condition, IL has ever been a mystery 20
me why this sport OF sports has been
| tabooed so generally. II is a kink that
have never yet solved 10 my satisfac-
ton.
Some say women are behind H. some
say ii is the awakening Of a higher moral
sense, but woman has yet 10 prove her
political power. and 10 A student or
American morals the latter explanation
IS laughabie. hold the theory that men
VIII guard their rights by blood. yet
allow their privileges to be curtailed
| without much OF a struggle. II the
American man ever decided that II is his
inalienable right and not a mere privi-
lege &c amuse and relax himself as he
sees fit so long as he does not interfere
with the liberty Of his -fellow-man. We
will have prize fights. Sunday theaters
and horse racing.
Abuses in All Things.
Abuses are possible ia all things OF
course. One can drink enough water &c
kill himself And I have heard OF 4
woman who laughed herself 10 death al
a circus. but why shoot a dog because
he has fieas?
One is brought face to face with thi:
condition of affairs when he steps foo
in Reno. Back in Washington, D. C,
they are making history. From Wal
street comes the plaintive bleat OF lambs
and an echo of the old, old struggle be-
tween bull and bear.
England faces an epoch-making pollti-
cal crisis. great things are happening
at various places over the world. but
in Reno. New, all things are dwarfed
I'm comparison with the Johnson-Jetlrie:
struggle.
The air is surcharged with II. we hear
the tramp of approaching thousands, we
are obsessed by the magnitude OF this
coming clash, we see. we hear, We
talk nothing else. Last Monday 1900
words went from here over the wires and
the fight was a week away. The fail OF
Port Arthur did not take one-quarteI
that number of words TO tell And every
day 81 is the same.
From now on until the time OF the
battle, the daily number will Increase
| In other words, two novels are written
| every twenty-four hours. dealing entirely
| with tho question of individual superior
| ity. When IL is realized OF those 10. 00l
words, 100. 600 at least are reiayed through
dozen OF syndicates to countless news
paper Offices in the United States. Can
| ada, and foreign countries and tha
| those Offices in turn print papers by the
| myriad which are read by an average
OF two or three people TO each copy, II
Is possible TO grasp something Of the
enormity of the public interest in the
coming event.
Increases Every Day.
II means that every day more printed
matter bearing on the Johnson-Jenries
prize fight is written, printed. dlstrib-
uted. and read than most book-loyers
have IN their entire libraries.
In San Francisco one paper has taken
a huge arena where the public can gather
on July and hear the news of the fight
as it comes sizzling over the wires from
the ringside. Nothing less than a calam-
ity like that which RACED the city fou
years ago, can keep the people out.
at other places actual contestants will
reproduce the blows and counters thai
are occurring in the mountain fastness OF
Nevada. In every city Of any conse.
quence bulletins will be flashed over the
heads OF yelling multItudes, the returns
Will come by special wire to every club OF
prominence in the United States and Can
ada, not TO speak of the countless resorts
OF different character.
Where matinees are held. the news viii
be read between the acts for the delecta-
ton of the theater patrons. men and
women alike. Streets from Bangor to Sc
attic, from Edmonton to Key West, viii
\ echo to the clank OF presses and the cries
Of newsboys, and yet prize lighting is ia.
booed What does it mean? What con.
clusions does 1t lead to?
Dashes for Camps.
In the abstract it is amusing; IN the
concrete 1t is intensely interesting and
leads to strange philosophizing. The
stage setting for this contradictory drama
Is also interesting. as are the characters
So many tons Of paper have been used ir
describing the twin stars of this century.
marking show that the newcomer dashes
headlong TO the training camps upon his
arrival and when he returns he knows nc
more than when be went
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