New-York tribune., 1911-11-06
CHURCH FIGHTS BOXING
Trinity Club, Brooklyn, Demands
Enforcement OF Law.
CHARGES DISCRIMINATION
It's Smoker Stopped, Asks That
Police See That All Organiza-
tions File Required Bond.

tlons File Required Bond.
Boxing bouts that were to have been held
in the gymnasium of Trinity Athletic Club.
Brooklyn House. an adjunct Of Holy Trim
ity Church, Clinton and Montague streets.
last Friday night were stopped by Captain
Hoolahan, of the Adams street police sta
ton, and now Bouck White head resident
of Trinity House and executive secretary
of the club, has written Mayor Gaynor
letter protesting against the Interpretation
of the Frawey law by the police captain.
and denouncng the boxing law as it now
stands as 'iniquitous." All Mr.. White de-
sires Is for the police to enforce the law as
il stands on the books and he Is confident
it will kill itself. In his letter, copy OF
which will be sent to Governor Dix, Mr..
White is seconded by the Rev. John How
ard Melish. rector Of the church and presi-
dent of tho club Mr.. White writes:
We ask leave to call your attention 10
the situation that has been created by the
so-called Frawlcy law passed by the Leg
isatUre last winter, now that II has been
interpreted by your police onlcials IN their
repression of the smoker which was to
have been held in our gymnasium lest Fiji
cay night
lllS idW-lHdDter NO. fl'. lSSuldllnS
Boxing and SOARING in the State OF New
York'-enacts that no sparring exhibition
public or private, with one spectator or
with one thousand spectators, with adnls-
sion fee or without admission fee, shall
be given, except after license has been
obtained and a bond for $1,000 deposited
with the State Controller at Albany. The
fee for such bond is about N0-a pro
hibitive sum. except tor those who go In
for boxing in d professional way. Inns
means that boxing cannot now tNst IN
New York State OH an amateur basis. Even
friendly matches within ones private house
are now Illegal, when these are witnessed
by spectator; they are 'sparflng exhlpi-
tons"
I called the attention of the secretary OF
the State Athletic Commission 70 this fact.
He told me that the law would have TO be
interpreted REASONABLY Armed with that
assurance, we proceeded to hold the smoker
in our gymnasium. with sparrng as part OF
the programme. The police captain of this
precinct declared It Illegal, and we called
off the affair. Thereupon nearly nalt or
our meeting went 10 stag in nelgnoor-
ing preclnct-a stag precisely similar to
ours, except that II was advertised and
had professional boxing as well as anna
teur-and there spent the evening unmo-
lested We submit that a state of affairs
which permits 'the POLICE captain in each
precinct TO interpret the law for himself
and, on this night in question in diametrl-
cally different ways In adjoining precincts
is intolerable and calls for change.
MI. W nte says tndL at IllilIlJ iiNNSC
the wish is always for reverence for law,
that the motto is Good fellowship and
good citizenship" and he makes 1t clear
that he is not criticising Captain Hoolahan,
for technically. Mr.. White says, the captain
was in the right. But he asks the Mayor
to notify all police captains that the pres
ent Frawley law makes all ''sparring eX-
hibitions." private or public. gate money
or free, staged or unstaged, misdemeanor
unless the $1,000 bond has been deposited
at Albany. And 8lr. White wishes the Ia"
enforced. He goes on TO say:
We ask this not alone in the name Of fair
piay-eouaI treatment before the law. our
wish is deeper-to get rid. by means OF en-
forcing 1t to the letter, OF Wnat we DeteVe
statute which was put through by sinister
interests. The Governor has trled 70 get II
repealed. Let II be enforced everywhere dS
your captain enforced II with US last tLi-
day night and the Governors desire VIII
be attained This law has no Justl1catlon
in tn ory or practice. Its practlcal enect IS
to mi ke amateur and trlendiy spaLIing nds talig
of yo ng men into the professional RANKS:
AS ev ry one acquainted with this helq OF
life knows, the disgraces which nave arisen
10 brig boxing into i'll Tepute have come
from the professional and not from the
amateur end.
We strive at Trinity TO inculcate in our
members that the battles of our day are
ba titles between ideas, and that therefore
moral courage is the badge or manhooo.
However, we are not aole 70 eraulcaIe
completely the love Of fisuc combat tnere
fore we have permitted boxing gloves IN
our gymnasium. but under amateur re-
strictions The Frawley law says IN enect
that friendly boxing is no longer TO be per-
mitted; boxing must nov TS,s ps lSr forces a iIs
10 the dilemma of discarding the gloves
from our gymnasium or else encourage
our members to go into the sport on
m ,ney making, and therefore orutahz'hs'
be sis. .. ,o,r NAV
al yue that, with all OF It's disadvantages,
tn F'rawley statute is the only one thal
sir e the former attempts to regulate IL
on the basis Of gate money were proveny
a allure. There are some OF us VINO pc
iieN,, on the contrary. that the regulation
~ Ioxing is eminently feasible. The bru-
tally and viciousness enter largely when
the oout is protracted so as to necome a
thre rounds of three minutes each provide
all at amateur boxing requires and would
put professionalism practically Out OF the
gamt The brutalites occur when the
nurnhsr of rounds exceeding three. the
weak,r contestant begins 10 give way. IS
no longer able adequately TO defend him
self nd therefore is at the mercy OF his
We SIX you, in the name Of law enforce
ment. In the name Of justice and In the
name I countless young men who are TO-
day bang forced into professional boxing
with tie uncivil7ing results that flow when
one makes n living with his fists, TO Issue
orders or the enforcement Of the Frawey
law In every police precinct, and without
lentenc,
He ad S that he is Joined in the request
by the iev. Mr.. Melish, whose name is
suficien warrant that this letter is
prompted by a sincere civic splrit-an at
tempt to clear up an at present anarchic |
nd irnn, ssfble situation