The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-06-16

| Johnson is 10 be a prize fight. as tha
| term Is understood in the law and there.
| fore a crime under our statutes. II this
| be true. 1t should be prevented. but II
carried out the interested parties SHOULD
be punished as provided by law,
| Il believe that you should investigate
| the matter al once. and take such Legal
steps as may be proper. In your judgment
| If warranted by the facts In presenting
| the case TO the court for It's decision. and
| Joined pending the hearing
our supreme court has never defined
| prize fight. and ! believe that op-
portunity should he given Il TO do so.
Since the amendment OF the law in 1893
permitting sparring exhibitions prize
lighting. under the guise of this amend
, ment, has greatly Increased and has been
tolerated In California, until today our
state is a mecca for prize fighters. much
to our discredit.
Must Stop Fights,
"Our people have the right to demand
that prize fighting shall cease In this
state and 1t will. il our present laws are
enforced--cspecially. il our courts follow
the decisions OF the supreme courts OF our
sister states in defining a prize fight,
'In Michigan a prize fight exists when
there is AN expectation of reward 10 be
gained by the contest or competition.
either to be won from the contestant, or
TO he otherwise awarded, coupled with an
intent TO inflict upon such contestant
some degree Of bodily HARM
''In Kansas the supreme court held
the contest must be fight. and that
there must be an intent on the part OF
the contestants To do violence 10 and In
niCt some degree OF bodily harm on each
other and the tight must he for some
made similar rulings.
ITO show that the so-callcd 'sparring
exhibitions held in this state under the
auspices of Incorporated athletic clubs
have not been sparrus exhibitions. but
prize lights. ! need but refer you 10 the
files of our daily papers. l Will call your
attention TO two or three OF the recent
ones. First tho Moran Mccarthy fight,
The Oakland Tribune In Its issue OF April
80. in reporting II uses tihs language.
After The sixteenth round had gone
some ilfty seconds Moran landed blow
a heavy punch, but the young fighter
went over backwards, his head scccmingly
dropping below, as though his neck had
been injured and aB he struck the floor
the sound of the Impact could be heard
throughout the pavilion Mccarthy died.
Bloody Contests.
Next the Nelson Wolgast fight tool,
place on Washington's birthday Git seems
that prize fighters always want TO tigh.
on WashinStons birthday, Decoration day
ard Independence day). and reported in
oil the daily papers OF the state by
CETonlcle OF February 20; 'HounI r.
Nelson's lips we ruTcd and his mouth
abG eyes swollen. JJey mix 20 II like
tigers. Wolgast having FL the better af Il,
laEding repeatedly IN the boJy and Jaw
With Nelson fighting wildly and splitting
blood, Wolgast literally cut the Battlers
fI.. 10 ribbons. but stil the Dane came
In FOR more
Round 39.--Wolgast appeared 10th to
put In the finishing punch. He ,abbcd in
ccssantly at tho Batter's anatomy, and
again The blood flowed IN n stream. VOL
CAST almost Knocked Nelson To the floor,
landing blow after blow on the defenseless
champions face
II these contests were not prize fights
then the historic battle between Hcenun
and Sawyer was not ono have no doubt
that the coming contest between Jeffrlcs
and johnson VIII be a repetition OF the
brutality mentioned In the foregoing
lights. only on a larger scale
"lf 'sparripS exhibitions as permitted
by our laws. make fights where men arc
killed beaten into insensbiIity. and their
faces cut into ribbons are lawful acts.
then IT Is time that the Legislature should
Interfere and make sHch exhibitions or
contests a felony. Such contests arc prize
tights not permitted by the law and
should be punished as such. Those who
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