Evening journal., 1897-12-31
WILL PAY TO FIGHT.
F'itz Offered One Thousand
Dollars to Sign Articles.
CORBETr ISSUES A Personal Def.
Follows Up Brady's Letter by Holding
Out All Sorts of Pecuniary Induce
ments to Get tho Champion
to Meet Him.

CINCINNATI. Dec 31.-TwO days ago
from New York William A. Brady, on
behalf of James j. Corbett, issued a
def to Robert Fitzsimmons, champion
pugilist Of the worl6. Corbett now
gives out a regular challenge, which
reads as follows:
Your published declaration, Mr..
Fitzsimmons. that you intend re-enter-
ing the ring pleases me more than can
at presentteXpress to you, for / know
that the public esteems me to be the
only candidate for the honors you thus
place within reach.
Il am sorry. however, to note that in
wording this declaration you give me
the impression that since we last met
you have become unwisely forgetful.
For instance, you say that before
can claim a return match with you
must prove myself to be worthy of It,
You certainly intended this as a joke,
for no one In the world knows my abili-
~ better than yourself. You cannot
so soon have forgotten your remark to
me at Carson just after the battle.
Jim, you said in your simple, earnest
way I'll never fight again. You've
given me a bloody good licking
you, the winner, uttered these words
with face and body so battered as to
leave no doubt of your sincerity, while
I. the loser, listened with never a bruise
or scratch from head to foot which
could contradict you.
rs this consistent with your now re-
questing me to prove myself to be a
worthy opponent? You win find the
confidence of the public in my ability TO
entertain you still unshaken. You will
find that the pubic will insist upon
your recognizing my claim that you
must meet me again. But surely you
have been misrepresented. / refuse to
credit you with the lame memory. bro
ken judgment, poor taste and entire un-
truthfulness which the printed remarks
alleged to have been made by you
would imply. 1 prefer TO think that
those who have entered the ring with
me were men. honest. brave and In
! capable of the vulgar, lying and cow
ardly language In which the newspa-
per version of your remarks was couch-
! ed. However well / know that the
great journals try 20 be and usually are
accurate to the letter in reporting ut
terances made by important men upon
important subjects, I prefer to believe
that in this case grave error has been
made somehow, somewhere and for a
purpose not worthy of one who wishes
TO be considered above contempt.
What the public expects from me is
| to maintain the manly dignity Of the
ring and not be a brawler nor a shifty
| evader of the honest principles which
govern honest men when adjusting
their respective merits. This is all ]
have TO say
but this is what propose to do:a
''The day we sign articles / viii give
you $1,000 in recognition of your cour-
tesy.
"The moment you enter the ring
ready to offer me battle. will give you
a second thousand dollars in token OF
my pleasure.
upon the completion of the tentf
round, if you are still undefeated. 1 will
give you a third thousand dollars as
a souvenir Of my surprise.
upon defeating you, no matter il
what round. I will give you $4,000 NOR,
as reminder that am not an ungen
erous foe.
"On the other hand, should you again
| defeat me, I promise, if stlll able e
move, to place my hat upon my hea,
and then, removing il in your honor
to proclaim you in frank and unmis
taxable terms to be my superior an,
state that I then and there quit foreve
all possible claim to the championship
Of the world.
Let further remarks on this subjec
be made by 1000 clean. honestly earne
American dollars. given me by the pub
lie that believes in me. have this da
forwarded these to Win ]. Davis o
Chicago in testimony that I mean ever
word / have herein spoken"