"MILKSOPS" OR PUGILISTS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 880, 28 July 1910, Page 4

"MILKSOPS" OR PUGILISTS.

A MUNICIPAL HOMILY. The pictures of the Johnson-JefEriei figlit (iurweriy tile Jen'ries-Jonnson fight) nave neen jostled auout ttie ring a good ileal since Jmy 4. Some ' Dannevirke ladies shot a "straight leit" at them a lew days ago, but tlie bloiy was- intercepted by' a borough councillor who delivered a homily to his brother municipal monarchs on the virtues of pugili®"l - affair came about througli the U.C.T.U. deciding to tell the borough Council that the pictures might demoralise the young people of the town,' and, at the same time, to recommend a suppression of the films. The aforesaid "straight left" was -therefore carefully' wrapped and folded in a piece oi writing paper, enclosed in an envelope, and forwarded to the Borough Council. When the shot was.fired at the council table, Councillor Fitzherbert put up his hands and struck out volubly. He said that a lot of people who had never seen, a fight, with gloves or without (he referred to boxing gloves, no doubt) were agitating to suppress the pictures. Ail enormous number were under a misconception as to the amount of punishment the combatants received in a fight, and no greater mistake was made in this world than bv those people in the boriclusion to which they. came. Prizefighting, for which men were thoroughly trained, was no more cruel than running a half, mile or rowing a hard race. - "Have you ever been hit on the nose?" he asked the Mayor. His Worship smiled a reminiscent smile, and confessed that the Mayoral prominence' referred to had stopped some. Councillor Fitzherbert proceeded to reveal a little inside' knowledge of the game of punching human beings. He said he had frequently fought, and in the course of some encounters his nose had been hard hit. Kuch impacts, he confided, caused very little pain, and here he apparently wandered from the subject a little to make an astronomical observation, for it is recorded that he stated that the recipient of the nose punch "saw a few stars." He reckoned that the Borough. Council should encourage fight contests,'and declared that our race would brcome "absolutely milksops" if the contests were stunned. The council asreed with Mr. Fitzherbert that they should take no action is the matter in question.