Omaha daily bee., 1919-01-05
Hitting the
High Spots on
The Sporting Trail
By A. X. DONOVAN,

Z Barton Green. who will introduc,
the Melady boxing bill in the Ne
braska legislature, is highly enthusi
astic over the outcome of tn,
measure. He has carefully consid
cred the Melady measure and sim
liar laws in other states and i!
emphatic in stating that it is the bes
he has found In speaking of tht
bill, he said:
| With the possible exception O
the good roads bill, l am satisfied
that the boxing bill will be, perhaps
the most popular bill introduced If
the Legislature this session. For the
past 90 days l have discussed this
measure with great many men, ii
many different occupations, and
have yet to hear the first objec.
| tion.a
Il find in talking around that there
is no objection to boxing as such
but there is all objection to the
sometimes brutal matches that are
pulled off, wherein one man is very
superior to the other and instead
of glove contest or boxing match
it becomes merely an exhibition OF
punishment; all men who are in
terested in boxing look down on un.
equal matches of this kind. and the
Melady bill eliminates this brutal
aspect from the sport and will make
boxing one of the most popular OF
indoor amusements.
Il have talked the matter over
with Y. M. c. A. mens the returned
soldiers and officers, and business
men and they are all of the opin-
ion that boxing should have lead
ing place in the training of the
young men Of the country, not only
on accountof the physical benefit
to be derived but also because il
teaches selfcontrol and manliness.
Boxing has been in bad company
for many years, but through the ef-
forts of that popular advocate OF
clean sport, Gene Melady, it will
join the Y, M. c. A. and go to all
Sunday school picnics and other
genteel meetings"
Jack Sicily Now Referee.
The unusual has happened in New
Jersey where boxing is legalized and
lovers of the sport are anxious to
keep the game clean. The boxing
commission in its endeavor to fur
nish none but the best of referees
recently went to Yonkers and volun-
tarily presented Jack" Sicily with
a license to referee in Jersey.
Jack is sports writer on the Yonk-
ers Herald and one of the most pop
ular writer's on ring battles in the
United States. He has always been
an advocate of clean sports and the
Jersey commission could have look
ed farther without finding a better
man.
He has many friends in Omaha,
where he once battled the son of a
millionaire packer and allowed his
hackers to carry home large bundles
of the filthy lucre. He was out
weighed several pounds but out
gained his opponent.
Lewis Will Back Holmes.
"Jack" Lewis, sporting promoter,
objects strenuously to reports circu-
lated about him by Ernie Holmes
following a hunting expedition in the
sand hills. Jack now tells some
-wonderous tales about the snoring
abilities of Ernie.
Jacks backs his champion to the
limit and now announces that he is
willing to bet anything from cam
brio needle to a threshing machine
and carry the stakes to the winner
on his back, that Holmes can out
snore" any man on earth.
Single and double barreled snorers
all look alike to Jack and he will
back his champ against any OF them
Fighting Parson Comes Back.
Rev. kid Fred R. Wedge, form
erly of Omaha, and later a pastor i'll
Rhinelander, Wis.,, has won another
battle. His life has been one series
of hght> and he has usually come Out
the winner.
Born in a lumber camp in Wis.
consin he graduated in his, early
teens to a saloon "hangeron" where
he became the best rough and tunl.
Bile fighter in the woods. In addi-
ton to being one of the toughest
fighters he was one of the hardest
drinkers. He won his first big battle
with the Demon Rum.
He went to the prize ring and
later studied and was admitted tc
the ministry, where he battled .tc
save souls with startling success. He
expended the same energy a;
brought him success in the ring. He
started in to clean up the Barbary
Coast in Frisco in the days whei
such a proceeding was considered
sure death. He was allowed to con
tinue his "clean up" after two ex
prize fighters who had been sent te
clean him up" were taken to hos
pital with broken jaws and ribs. J
tuberculosis proved tough op
ponent bet he took his family ans
hurried to a small ranch in New
! Mexico where. aided by all outdoor
life, he landed the "kayo' punch
| When Uncle Sam entered his bis
fight he volunteered his services ant
did his bit as boxing instructor II
Texas training camps. He is now
a candidate for the welterweigh