The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-11-29
A FEW REMARKS ABOUT THE REV. DR. AKED AND THE AWFUL BRUTAL SPORT OF BOXING

1 said face a large and juicy beefsteak. | have read of f'tI1e dull crash of splfn- tering bones,'' and observed the boxer whose bones were so crushed dancing | through the larger part of the fol, | lowing night. L have seen boxers whose faces were "smeared with blood;" but I have quieted my con science by the. sage reflection that nosebleed isn't necessarily fatal. There have been fatalities in the ring, but not nearly so many as on the football field. The average pro fessionaI boxer would get frigid ex- tremities if forced to face a bunch of "college bred" boys from good homes'' on the gridiron. Every man 1y sport claims it's victims. But, then lots of people have been killed in churches. Statistics seem to indicate | that a. church is about the unsafest possible place to be dn during stun der storm. And thunder storms might come up at any time, where fore
 There have been many evils con nected with the boxing game, but, with the coming of proper supervis- | ion they are constantly decreasing. pr. Aked surmises that "the more bru- tai the exhibition the more they 4the spectators) delight in it." Occasion ally that may be true, but, striking an average among boxing fans, bru- ta1ity is not only disgusting but will not be tolerated. It is not the "big bullies'' but the clever, fast, scientific and gentIeman1y boxers who are pop ular today. And boxers of this type, properly trained and evenly matched, will never damage each other to any such degree as to bruta.lize the be- holder.
 What the spectator sees at a we'll conducted boxing shov-and such are now in the majority, and with ade- quate regulation will become univers- aI-is a pair of clean, clever athletes, trained to the minute, beautifully pro- portfoned and glowing with health, engaged in a friendly contest with the gloves. Mental alertness is quite as
 much a qualification for the success fuI boxer as physical ,prowess. 1.-the, supple quick as lightning, graceful, the finished boxer inspires the behold CT to emulation. He aspires to pos sess something like the same physical vigor and beauty of form. So the poor, deEuded fellow goes away From the boxing show and buys himself a pair of boxing gloves and a punching bag. While his muscles squeak and shriek in protest, he goes after that bag. At first the bag eludes him, but eventually the poor thing realizes that the brute is determined, and takes it's beatings without any protest other than an occasional Diff on the nose of it's assadlant. The next sep in the 
 with friends. His downfall is then complete. True, he has gained add ed strength and health and vigor and boise and self-conf1dence. He has learned to control his temper. He has discovered that too free indul- gence in liquor or tobacco isn't com patib1e with the development of skill and strength. It ig not alleged that the adoption of this course of action always follows attendance at 8 boxing show, but it happens often enough 1 to make 1t worth while to encourage boxing under proper conditions. Not all people who go to church become saints.
 pr. Aked complains that boxers are | ''hiring themselves out'' flor dollars g TrUe-and any boxing fan will tell him 1 that many of them are vastly over paid. But dollars are accepted by actors, baseball players, physicians, even clergymen. There isn't anything l inf1 erently wrong in having mon ey, else nearly everybody would be in jail, except newspaper men.