El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-11-25
START FIGHT ON
THE}gK!NG GAME
The CT ade in Australia Is
Pus1ad by Preacher
and Gains Force.
By w. w. Naughton.l


San Francisco. Cal, Nov. 25.-Agita-
ton against the boxing game has
arisen in Australia. ParentheticaIly,
it might be explained, there is always
demonstration Of some sort from
the opOnents Of pugilism when any
thing pretentiOus in the way of a ring
event looms up at the Antfpodes.
The trouble blows away, as rule.
like the smoke of wood fire. and
it might be that the present disturb
ance is merely a casual whiff of re-
! mOnstrance at what someone has
/ dubbed, the sport of men"
In the present case the affected
J area is wider than usual The open
: ing gun was fired in the city of Mel
/ bourne when Rev. F. c. Spur pastor
| Of Baptist church approached DIT
/ Wright, primate Of Australia, with
1 view Of insututing movement for
/ the suppression Of prize fighting in
! Sydney"
In defining his position. the Rev. Mr..
/ Spur said.
MY prime object is to bring pres
sure to bear on the. government ..4-
I a view to preventing the fight be-
/ tween Johnson and AcVea, which is
/ to take place at the stadium. Rush
cutters bay, and, in fact, to place an
embargo on all boxing contests for
money"
While at first glance it looks as
| though the man Of the cloth is dis
eliminating, it is evident Just the
same that, he intends the movement
TO be thorough one such boxing
contests as are not for money are not
much of a menace to public morals
War Is On.
Members of the Evangelical and
Baptist councils of New South Wales
have ranged themselves behind Rev.
Mr.. Spur in his work Of reform and
the war between the pros and
"antis" is on.
It is freely intimated that. If sgd
ney had not been converted into
stamping ground for the worlds most
notorious negro bruisers and if
JOhnsOn-McVea fight had not been
talked Of as climax 10 the Ethiopian
invasion, these who dislike boxing
might have been content to suffer in
silence.
White Australia" which was con-
ferred upon the country on account
Of its aversion TO all 11en Of color. IT.
respective Of race, should be lived up
to, but the threatened JOhnsOn-Mc-
Vey fight is the last straw. The We
hemence Of the opposition is such that
an irreverent Australian scribe has
rubbed the refOrmers the society for
the abatement Of the smoke nuisance
So far the parties who favor boxing
have scored better than their adver-
saries. In Sydney a reporter inter-
viewed no less parsonage than F.
=
ELECTED his views on the subject Here
is what the inspector general OF po-
lice said:
Z do not profess to be able TO give
an exposition OF the law, but I al
ways view glove contests this way
If there be a fixed number Of rounds
and the contest is TO be decided on
points. II is not a prize fight This.
I believe, is the accepted law I am
not saying that contests such as we
have in Sydney are. or are not, prize
fights. am simply giving the gen
orally accepted idea The police al
ways attend these contests and they
have Instructions to stop g fight at
the slightest exhibition OF brutality,
and, I may add, the chief secretary
is in accord with that instruction II
is also within the power Of contest
ant or his second to bring the event
TO a close at any moment"
The inspector general was told that
one Of the church representatives /
claimed the government had the power
to prohibit the charge made for the
entrance to boxing exhibitions.
THAT IS not So" he said so long
as a limited number Of rounds IS stip-
ulated, the authorities cannot inter
fere"
This is particularly interesting. as
It shows the way glove contests are
viewed by the men IN authority in
Australia. IN addition It is quite re-
freshing to hear Of an official who [
has the courage Of his convictions and Z
who eXpOunds his views cand1dly and ]
without fear Of consequences. If there
were such a thing as an inspector
general Of police IN Milwaukee say, /
and he was asked the question the /
SYDNEY reporter asked Day the /
chances are he would reply Il refuse !
to answer for fear Of jeopardizing my I
political future"
Mcintosh Heard From.
Of course Hugh D. Mcintosh, the /
Australian promoter was heard from. !
Said he: Il can only say that the I
clerical gentlemen are labOrlng under I
a misapprehe nsiOn- There is no such /
thing as prize fighting in any part /
of the world today"
Mcintosh explained that the con- /
tests held in the stadium are simply !
in line with the glove displays at I
oxford, Cambridge, Elton and mar
row. and other English public schools I
where boxing is included IN the cur I
riculum."
At the scholastic Institutions named. /
according to Mcintosh. the public is
invited to pay for admission, and The .
events are arranged and carried out /
on exactly the same lines IS the sta
dunn events. He makes the plea that {
If boxing were degrading and brutal,
IL would not have such champions
meaning Of course, outside champions.
as lord Roberts, sir Harry RaWsOn, sir
Malcolm Fox. sir Claude Crespigny, lord I
LOnsdale sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and I
many others of prominence IN the
world Of art. literature and music
This somehow seems to take in Jimmy
Britt.
With grand flourish of con-
fidence in his position, Mcintosh
invites the agitators to attend his
stadium some night and witness a
modern boxing contest. The invitation
may not be accepted, but If the Z
after truth become the guests
of the promoter It IS to be hoped. for !
the sake OF the cause Mac represents.
that II win not be a Carl MOrris-Jim
Flynn fight
ship that has ever come under our OBJ
servatiOn IS seen in an an article that [
in the Daily PrincetoHian,"