The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-12
Frederick Haskin's Letter
The ReUiUal of Fencing.

Washington, D. c., Nov. 1I.-Can
fencing be revived In this country
! as a popular form of athletics? An
. effort to create Interest in IL is now
being made by devotees of the
sport.
When looking twice at a pretty
woman might mean a challenge to
| a duel, dexterity with a blade was
a matter of life and death to any
man OF rank. In consequence,
every gentleman studied fencing
earnestly as part of bis training
TO grace society. And when hand
to hand encounters with swords
were still a customary method of
fighting battles, swordplay was an
important part of a soldiers train
ing. With these uses for skill at
handling blade, the art OF fenc-
ing fourished.
Now dueling is against the law
everywhere. Even in the latin
countries, where an encounter is
still occasionally reported, the duel
list Is no longer regarded as the
dashing and romantic hero he once
was. 1t is even said that it is no
heinous crime to refuse a challenge
and this means a big change in
public opinion. for to refuse to
night once meant ostraCism.
Modern warfare has almost ban
ished the sword. In the few cav
airy charges of modern battles, the
rider swings to one side of the
saddle with his head close to the
horses neck and his sword thrust
ahead. II he misses one man, he
rides on to the next There is no
swordplay of defense. More often,
when a cavalry troop fights, it puts
its horses together and attacks
Gfoot with carbines or pistols.
Since its practical uses have been
abandoned, fencing is neglected. in
this country especially. Now, the in
ternational fencing match between
a British team and an American
team, which is TO take place this
month, is expected to arouse pop
ular interest in this old sport.
This country has had flares of in
terest in fencing since its dueling
days. In Roosevelt's administra-
ton, notably, fencing and horse
back riding became the fashionable
sports. The president fenced. So
did his daughter, Alice. and Gen
eral Leonard Wood, and so, in con-
sequence, did the diplomatic and
official sets OF the capital
Chiefly An Army Sport.
Since then the fencing clubs have
been maintained chiefly by officers
of the army and navy. Fencing al
ways attracts some college stud
ents, too. In fact, many Of our
swordsmen today are college
trained men. But fencing draws
small crowds. compared with foot
ball and tennis, and this accounts
partly for the small number of
swordsmen developed by the col
leges. In continental Europe fenc-
ing tournaments are backed by
public interest: Champion teams
go from place to place, as the ten
mis- stars do, to compete in well
matches.
In spite of the slump in fencing
in this country, we did get together
enough good swordsmen to make I
up a team for the Antwerp Olympic I.
games.
The story goes that when this !
team won third place against the
crack teams Of Europe. there was
much surprise. The captain of the
Belgian team came to Major F. W /
captain of the Amer !
leans, and asked if it could be true
that the American fencers had /
won from the strong Danish team !
Major Honeycutt said that it was
true. Then, please accept my
most cordial congratulations" said /
the Belgian. you know, you Amer /