New Britain herald., 1915-02-25
Sp0rt0graphy
 BY GRAVY"
BY GRAVY

e'"& 1 boxing game has now been given d thorough trial in New York, W1scon" sin and other states, and, aIthougn neither fighters, fans nor promoters seem entirely satisfied with the re- suits. the scheme seems to afford the best solution for the problems con- fronting those interested in the pres ervation of the sport.
 Since the days of Figg, the father of modern boxing, nearly two cen turies ago, the game has had to con- tend with enemies without and with in. Broughton, the second cham pion of England, after intiicting in juries on an opponent which caused his death, saved the sport by draw ing up a set of rules which governed prizefighting for almost a century For a time the sport flourished, and then, in the latter part of the eigh- teenth century, the grafters and bunco men got control and gave the sport a blow from which it was slow in recovering. Jackson, the most scientific boxer up to that time, re- stored the fistic sport to public favor. About a century ago the Pugilistic club was launched in London, and under it's rule the sport again flour ished. The London Prize Ring rules took the place of Broughton's code. About fifty years ago the game was again outlawed in both England and
 America, but the Queensberry rules
 and the introduction of boxing gloves 1 saved it.
 New York state has made many
 attempts to regulate the game. The old Horton law permitting boxing contests at reputable clubs, at which decision could be rendered. The Mccoy -Choynski bout and other sus- picious affairs soured the fans on the sport, and in 1900 the Horton law was repealed. Then came the mem bership clubs,' with unlimited oppor- tunities for fakes and trickery. which , the crooked promoters and boxers were not slow to take advantage Of l The Frawley law, creating an ath- l letic commission to govern boxine ! was passed in 1911, and since then the game has regained much of it's i oldtime popularity. The commission as now constituted has come in for much criticism, and the feature of 1 the law which prevents the giving i of decisions by the referee is far from 1 popular, but by and large the law has worked we'll and has been a vast 1 improvement over the old mem ! bershipt" graft. Payment of the
 commissioners, and the reduction Of l the commission to one man, are
 among the many suggestions that have 1 been offered.
 Last year the boxing clubs of New
 York state took in $65O,000, and of
 this sum the state got $32,000 in
 taxes The last report of the Wis
 consin commission shows that the
 clubs of that state took in $245, 5,000
 of which the state got $12,00O.
 | While it is only in the United
 States that the government has gone
 into partnership with the boxers, Eng l land, France and Australia have reg
 ulations which are no less stringent than those prevailing in the states
 vhich have adopted the commission system. In Australia the leaders in l the sport have had sufficient lnf1u-
 ence to induce the government au-
 thorities to adopt boxing in the pub~ lie schools. Although France is the latest country to take up lie boXe, " they had perfected before the out l break of the an organization
 that was in many respects superior
 to the athletic commission plan. The l French Federation of Boxing Clubs had an ironclad control of the sport. Grating boxers and promoters were quickly put out of business, and the federation had the power to impose penalties for violation of it's rules that made the boxers think twice before
 they tried to put anything over-and tthen decide not to do it. Of course
 the French fans got stung once in a lwhile-but never twice by the same
 man. ~ -.-----