Omaha daily bee., 1917-02-23
MELADY BOXING
MEASURE KILLED
House Members Vote to Post
pone Bill to Permit Sport
Under Supervision.
LANCASTER AZ INST II

Lincoln, Feb, 22,-(Special) Fail
ure of reiniorcements to arrive on
the battlefield at the right time caused
the Melady boxing bill to meet its
Waterloo today. For two hours the
house members battled with each
other in efforts to kill or pass the
bill to third reading. 1t appeared to
be anybody's hight, even up to the
close of the roll call upon motion to
postpone indefinitely it was found that
the bill lacked just one vote to save
it. The vote stood 4S for indefinite
postponcment and AZ against.
Five members were absent during
the call-Auten. Beal, Cronin, Harris
of Buffalo and Todd. Three of these,
according to the bills friends, Cronin,
Beal and Harris, and possibly Todd,
would have voted for the bill. Either
one of the three, if present would
have made the vote a tie, and con-
seuuently not subject to indefinite
postponement.
Later friends of the bill canvassed
the situation, with the idea Of making
fight not to concur in the report OF
the committee OF the whole, but
finally decided not to do so.
Comes in New Form.
During the interim of ten days
since the bill had been sent back to
the cities and towns committee. be-
cause of its unconstitutional form, as
originally introduced, it had been
worked over by lawyer and materl-
ally changed. In its new dress. it
named the governor as athletic COM
missioner of the state and provided
for the appointment of three deputies
to administer the law.
Mr.. Peterson, leading the attack on
the measure, read the message sent
to the New York legislature by Gov
ernor Whitman, asking for the repeal
of similar law in that state, which
referred to boxing contests in gen.
eral as vulgar, indecent and brutaliz-
ing" He wanted to know ii Nebraska
was going to take up something that
New York is lust getting rid OF after
an unsatisfactory experience.
Says Permits Prize Fights.
Under this bill | could pull off a
Johnson-Willard prize fight in the city
of Lincoln, by paying the state 5 per
cent of the gross receipts declared
Peterson. He pointed out some al
legged legal flaws in the revised bill
which had been overlooked in the re-
: drafting
: Mr.. Greenwalt, replying to Peter
son, said that the country at large nc
longer looks to New York for guild
ance or leadership. He pointed out
that New York has done nothing to
promote prohibition or other moral
reforms which many Of the western
states have adopted.
Mr.. Shannon told the house he hac
lived in and around New York City
for over twenty years and was Ia
miliar with the conditions surround
ing boxing exhibitions there, He de
MED that they were Objectionable
saying that some of the finest mer
and women, from multimillionaire'
down to the humblest class" attenc
them. Roughnecks, he asserted, are
kept out.
No Worse Than Football.
"Tf it's all right for twenty-five
men to get out ON the state university
foot ball field and maui each othc
around for two hours, why isn't it al
: right to have boxing exhibitions un
der strict rules and regulations2
: Shannon inquired He added that HI
had played foot bali for numbe
, of years and knew how it went. H
personally knew of a number of case
where players had been killed.
Mr.. Bates argued that many box
ing bouts are now held illegally ant
under questionable auspices. Th
purpose of his bill, he said, was Il
,, insure clean sport and prevent fakes
He was not surprised that the gentle
man from the "holier than thou
, county of Polk (Mr. Norton) wante'
! to have the bill killed.
: The debate was closed by Mr. Nor
, ton with the brief statement that tn