TOM WHITE, RING EXPERT, SCORES BOXING
BILL WOULD ELIMINATE MANAGER
The following letter regarding the
boxing bill now beforethe Illinois leg
islature was written bya man who
knows the fight game from every an
gle. Several years ago he was one
of the best-known fighters in the
business and he knows whereof he
speaks.
He is heartily in favor of boxing,
but wants the game on a high plane,
with the undesirable elements elim
inated. He believes that the best
way to do this is by cutting out the
manager. Some arguments are
heard that such a thing, is not feas
ible. It has never been tried, so far
as we know. Certainly men like
Mike Gibbons and Ad Wolgast have
done very well for themselves, and
Packey McFarland overrules Emil
Thiry whenever the manager arrang
es a battle which Packey doesn't like.
Since this letter was written the
New York legislature has passed a
measure knocking out the boxing
commission and this bill is now up to
Gov. Whitman for signature.
This letter is worthy of considera
tion by fans and all who have the
real interests of the game at heart
It follows:
At the present time boxing is a fel
ony punishable with a heavy fine and
imprisonment. To have that penalty
clause stricken out and bring box
ing within the law one would only as
sume that some good and valid rea
sons were advanced where some
thing that is now a felony should be
legalized. The present bill contains
nothing of a worthy character
nothing beneficial to the sport of box
ing that would call for a repeal of the
present law, and while modeled after
the bills in other states it contains all
of the vicious and bad features, with
out any redeeming qualities.
The people who are fostering this
measure are acting in a mysterious
manner; they are not taking tHe gen
.eral sporting public into their confi-
dence, and one of the members, Ed'4
Santry, goes so far as to say in a re- "
cent lengthy article in the newspa
pers that he wanted athletic clubs and '
others interested in the sport to keep
their hands out of the affair and let
him handle the bill alone, lest they
spoil whatever chances it might have.
Boxing is a grand old sport and
there are countless thousands who
would enjoy a good, clean boxing
match between evenly matched men 3
and conducted in a clean, sportsman- -like
manner. x
There is nothing whatever in the ;
present bill that would indicate that"
it was going to be a clean sport; iti
is simply something which, under the
guise of sport, was to be used as a1
money-making proposition by any
class of people who have heretofore '
cared to conduct and promote it
Nothing is said in the bill about ama-'f
teur boxing nothing whatever said''
about elevating or advancing sport
nothing but the repeal of the present '
penalty, so that the hoard of hun-T
gry managers and promoters will
have the chance to get the money. T
The commission form of govern-'
ment is not a success in other states,
all newspaper reports to the contrary
notwithstanding. "
Recently we saw a spectacle of the
boxing commission of Wisconsin?
passing a rule that prevented a man
because he was so unfortunate as to
have been born with, a black skin,'
from making an honest living. If a
boxing bill was passed in this state 1
ttto TTfrtnll lrTTr tttVi o It-iti ? P man t
would be appointed on that commis- Q)
slon, but could safely assume that the
positions 'would be filled by politi-'f
cians or friends of politicians, who1,
knew but little about boxing. jH
The powers of a boxing commis'
sion are autocratic; their sanction to"
a boxing match is final, and the local"
authorities -must sit quietly by while
they exercise authority over them.
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