Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-04-02
HOUSE FAv0RS
BOXING BILL
WITH CHANGES
State Commission Eliminated
and Provision Made That
Only One Hundred Per-
sons May See Match.
From a Staff Correspondent.


Lincoln, April 1.-(Special. 1.-The
house in committee of the whole
Tuesday morning recommended H.
R. So, the boxing bill for passage
after it had successfully stood up
against a lot of hard knocks. As
approved by the house the bill is
in very different form from the or
iginal H. r. SO, introduced early
in the session. 1t eliminates the
state boxing commission and forbids
charging an admission to any
match. The number of spectators
is nnited to 100. Permits must be
obtained from municipal or county
authorities
1t was also amended by striking
out the section which forbade boys
and girls under 16 to attend a box
ing exhibition unless accompanied
by their parents.
The bill has a provision that for
bids boxing bouts on Sunday. Mr.
Williams, Seventh Day adventist
moved to amend by adding cor any
other day of the week" This was
voted down "a to IS. 1t was Mr..
Williams who moved later to kill
the bill. His second motion failed
Of adoption by 81 to 46. Mr.. Math-
ewson, who is Williams colleague
from Fillmore county, moved to ad-
vance the measure for third reading
which prevailed on a standing divi-
sion. 81 to 81.
Present Law Violated.
While talking for the bill, Mr.
Green said the present law against
fighting by agreement is constant
ly violated. Every time a couple OF
boys put on the gloves at the Y. NJ
c. A. and have a friendly little bout
they break the law, he declared
Green admitted that he sometimes
goes down to the Y. M. c. A. and
does some boxing himself.
"And you admit that you violate
the law whenever you go down there
to box?" asked Mr.. Williams.
81 do" frankly admitted Green.
Then you should be arrested and
prosecuted" Williams retorted. II
was suggested that members of the
legislature are immune from arrest
during the session.
Williams went on to say that the
desire to box is not necessarily a
sign OF red blood" Some men who
are yellow to the core" he insisted,
claim to be -blooded when there
is not a drop of red blood in their
veins"
What Is Really Wanted.
The question of whether or not
the Y. NJ. c. A. really endorses box
ing was discussed at some length
Mr.. Williams was skepticsl on that
point. Mr.. Berka, answering him,
said there is no question that a
large number of Y. M. c. A. secre-
taries and other officers favor box
ing to develop manly qualities in
boys, and if the sport is not in
harmony with the principles of the
organization then it should get rid
OF these officers.
Mr.. Windham had not heard of
any Y. M. c. A. people urging the
passage of the boxing bill. He de-
clared it was intended to permit as
near an approach as possible to prize
fighting without making the partici-
pants liable for the penalties.
THE gentleman from. Lancaster
Barton Green) inadvertently let out
the real meaning OF the bill. when he
said that it allows 80 minutes OF
actual fighting" continued Windham
That's just what it is-fighting
It's prize fighting under license, or
something nightly close to that"
Boxing Defended.
Green denied that he had mention
ed fighting" but Windham insisted
he heard that word used and wrote 1t
down at the time.
Mr.. Birdsall defended boxing as
proper, healthful and beneficial
sport. Just because some people
don't like it, that was no reason for
condemning it, he thought. More
over, he said it was just as unrea-
sonable to forbid person under &c
being present at a boxing match as
to prohibit the attendance of young
people at horse races or ball games.
Mr.. Hostettler said the subject
had been before several legislatures
and he expected to see it keep on
bobbing up at every session until
some kind of a law is passed to
legalize harmless sport