The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1919-08-01
(Literary Digest)

IKE a. HTSI-CldSS scrap is or
fer ID in lightsome, off-hand manner
by the editor of the Jersey City Jour
nal, as a solution for the large, dark
question that crops up whenever a
why do peaceable, intelligent, re-
spectacle average Americans become
enthusiastic over the spectacle of two
big men pummeling each other until
one or both arrive at a state of dis
figured helplessness? The enthusi-
asm has been present in large meas
ure on every such occasion in the
long history of championship boxing
1t was responsible for a tremendous
pilgrimage to Toledo, Ohio, when
Willard fought Dempsey on July 1.
Airplanes. wires and newspapers CO.
operated in rushing to the four cor
ners Of the country the tremendous
news that Mr.. Willard had collapsed,
suffering from an extreme fiStic in
disposition, in the third act or round
Mr.. Dempsey. whose courage some of
the soldiers papers are questioning
because. although unmarried and
within draft age. he did not appear in
France, is hailed as the worlds
champion fighter" However. the
New York Tribune refers to "fine
distinction" made by Mr.. Grantand
Rice. who opines that Dempsey is "a
marvel in the ring, the greatest hit
ting machine, or what you will" but
he is not "the worlds champion
fighter" As Mr.. Rice puts it:
Not by a margin OF 50,000,OOO,
men who either stood, or were ready
ploding shell for anything from six
cents to dollar day. 1t would be
an insult to every young American
who sleeps today from Flanders to i
Lorraine. from the Somme to the I
Argonne. to crown Dempsey with any
laurels built of fighting courage"
The Tribune comments that the
call of combat is loud, and human be-
ings. the most orderly and peaceable ,
of them, find a thrill in the dramatic !
values of any duel between giants. /
But the heroes OF the prize-rine are
something else again The war gave
us new values, new standards OF cour- /,
ace and moral valor, new contrasts. |
and new meaning for champion
fighters. Dsspise the men and the
methods asr@e will so-called cham
ptunsinp fight holds curious and
intense fascination for us all. in the
words of the Macon (GaO Daily Tele-
graph, and has held similar fasci-
nation wherever men had red blood
in their veins. 1t is an instinct" re-
marks the New York Times. land
there is no Quarreling with an in
stinct."
Among men of intellect and culture
who felt this fascination. or Gin
stinct," it is recalled, was the great
English essayist, William HaZlitt. /
critic of Shakespeare and biographer
of Napoleon. Hazlitt, who received
the homage OF Robert Louis steven
son and Of W. f. Henley. whatever
his position may be today, wrote a
description OF prize fight that took I
place nearly "A century ago. "His
summary of the fight between Hick-
man, the Gas-man. and Bill Meats" ,
says one OF his biographcrs, lis alone
in literature as also in the annals Of
Lamb, who was not always in state
OF grace himself. remarked that HaZ- ;
lit was ''one of the finest and wisest
spirits breathing when in his natural
and healthy state" and some unkind
critic has suggested that his state may
not have been natural and healthy"
when he wrote Of the great and
bloody battle. Nevertheless. HaZ-
litt's report of the Hickman -Neate
fight has become classic. even
though it is lacking in most of the
'cxtravagances of journalism" which .
the Chicago Tribune detects in the
language with which the recent Will
lard-Dempsey fracas was dished up to
the public. Hazlitt begins with
long description OF his journey to the .
place of the battle, and finally comes .
to a consideration of the contest itself .
in this fashion
Reader, have you ever seen
fight? If not, you have pleasure to
come. at least if il is a fight like that
between the Gas-man and Bill Neate. ,
The crowd was very great when we
arrived on the spot; open carriages