State v. Canty

Decision Date27 November 1907
Citation207 Mo. 439,105 S.W. 1078
PartiesSTATE ex rel. ATTORNEY GENERAL v. CANTY et al.
CourtMissouri Supreme Court

Appeal from Circuit Court, St. Louis County; John W. McElhinney, Judge.

Action by the state, on the relation of the Attorney General, against Dennis Canty and others to enjoin a public bullfight. From a decree dismissing the bill and dissolving a temporary injunction, relator appeals. Reversed and remanded, with directions.

This is an equitable proceeding instituted by the state ex rel. the Attorney General in the circuit court of St. Louis county for the purpose of enjoining respondents from giving a public bullfight performance in an arena prepared for that purpose, upon the premises of the Beredith Realty Company, in said county, near the World's Fair Exposition, which was at the time in progress. A trial was had, and the finding was for respondents, and a decree was rendered dissolving the temporary injunction theretofore entered and dismissing the bill. In proper form and in due time the Attorney General appealed the cause to this court. The petition was substantially as follows: That the defendants had, on divers occasions, unlawfully and willfully managed and conducted, and proposed to continue to manage and conduct, a public exhibition and performance, known as a "bullfight" and "bull baiting," in an arena constructed for that purpose, in St. Louis county, state of Missouri, near the city of St. Louis; that at such performances many thousands of people attended, being each charged an admission fee of 50 cents; that great publicity was given to such performances by advertising in the public press to induce the people to attend, and that it is the intention of the defendants to unlawfully continue to conduct and use such place so constructed, as aforesaid, or the purpose of fighting and baiting bulls; that the defendant the Beredith Realty Company, a corporation, owns the premises upon which said arena is constructed, and unlawfully, knowingly, and willfully suffer and permit the defendants to use and occupy said premises for the purpose of fighting and baiting bulls in the presence of a large number of people, and that it is the intention of defendants to continue such performances and to use said premises for that purpose for a long time to come; that, if such exhibitions continue, it will seriously endanger the lives of the participants, and that it will bring together from all parts of the country lawless, violent, turbulent, and dangerous assemblies of many thousands of people, causing riots and affrays, and seriously endangering the safety and lives of many people, to the prejudice of the good name and general welfare of the people; that the bullfighting and bull baiting so carried on, and threatened to be carried on, is contrary to the good morals and public peace and general welfare of the people of the state, and constitutes a continuing violation of law, and is a public nuisance; that such performances are a continuing nuisance, and that the state has no adequate remedy at law, except by the interposition of the injunctive power of a court of equity. The petition concludes with a prayer for injunctive relief against the defendants. The answer is a general denial.

There is but little, if any, dispute regarding the facts of this case. Those established by the state are substantially as follows: The St. Louis Humane Society was back of and responsible for this proceeding, and the various members thereof were the principal witnesses on behalf of the state. An arena was constructed for bullfighting in St. Louis county, near the Administration entrance to the World's Fair grounds, and was about 150 or 200 feet square, inclosed, with a seating capacity of 4,000 or 5,000. Above the entrance was a picture of a bull, and a large sign with these words, "Bull Fight Arena," and near one corner of the arena there was a poster displaying the following words: "Bull Fight Arena. A death defying spectacle." Prior to the institution of this suit, several performances had been held in the arena by respondents, and they intended and threatened to continue giving them for an indefinite period of time, the first of which was on Sunday afternoon, September 4, 1904, all of which were the same in character, differing only in detail; and for that reason a statement of the facts regarding one performance will apply equally well to all. That performance was as follows: The first part of it was a parade around the arena. The bullfighters went in dressed in Spanish costumes, leading horses, and, after retiring, one of the respondents opened a gate and let in a bull, and he came in on the run and jump. There were several men standing around, dressed for the occasion, called "matadors," with red cloaks or capes. That as soon as the bull entered he made for one of those men, and the man threw his cloak in his face and jumped away, and then every one of them went through the same performance. That after the bull and men had completed that part of the performance, one of the men would take a cane and go through the form of killing it, as with a sword in a Spanish or Mexican arena, but the bull was not in fact stabbed, killed, or injured by that act. The action of the matadors greatly excited and maddened the bull, and he would rush around the arena after those people, and attempted to gore them, and he caught one of them and smashed him with his head and horns against the side of the arena. He looked pale, as if hurt, and he then disappeared, and never appeared again in the arena. He told one witness he was quite seriously hurt, and was attended by a physician. There were "escapes" constructed of posts and boards in various parts of the arena, behind which the matadors could and did dodge when too closely pursued by the bulls, and the man who was injured was trying to get behind one of them when caught by the bull. Mr. Robert, another matador, was also struck by a bull at the same performance, and knocked to the ground, and was in great danger of being killed or injured by the bull when the other matadors came to his timely assistance and distracted the attention of the bull. Robert afterwards stated to the witness that he was black and blue from the effects of the stroke of the bull. This bull was kept in the arena 15 or 20 minutes, and, after he was taken out, two more were brought in. They came rushing in the same as the first one, and charged the matadors in the same way, and "came very near catching several of them." All the bulls did all they could to catch the men, but only the first succeeded in doing so. They would rush against the "escapes" in trying to gore the men. The fourth animal turned in was an "old black steer," with one of his horns broken and hanging down and bleeding. When he was brought in two men were dressed up like horses, and he charged them, and they caught him by the broken horn, and he would strike the "escapes" with same in his charges, which would make it bleed worse. Another man came into the arena with a barrel around his body, and the bull charged and knocked him down, but did him no injury. He was rescued by his fellow performers. The bulls were greatly infuriated, and would snort and bellow when charging the men. There were 20 of the bulls. They came from the...

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