Los Angeles herald., 1905-09-11

the championship over to some other
fellow, but you'll find there's a string
tied to the gift and they suddenly
drag 1t back again.
| Corbett gave the belt over to Peter
Maher, but he took it back in a hurry
when he found Peter hadn't the class to
hold it. Anything that goes to throw
a shade on a fighters record ought to
be ripped off and the color line does as
much to harm a mans popularity as
anything, I think, unless it's a direct
charge of crookedness, and that doesn't
come often.
There are lot of men in this world
who think the negro is a good fighting
proposition, and they have some reason
for it, too, for there was Peter Jackson,
there was George Dixon, there was
Joe Walcott and there is Joe Cans.
Those men made names for them
selves, and they did it legitimately.
AS I said a while back, some of these
colored men have a reason for being
fighters. They nearly all have a long
reach, and that counts for a good
deal.
Hard Heads Help
They generally have hard head,
and can take a punch there that would
crop a white man. Then most of them
ere short necked like Walcott. The
to rap that fellow on the jaw, for he
has no neck at all that 1 could ever
see.
When the whole thing SINNERS down
to cases, it's easy to see that Jeff has
hurt himself just a little bit by
scratching that chalk line across his
doorstep.
Popularity is a funny thing here in
this country. You're hero one minute
and then you're-well, something else.
Who had a harder time than poor old
Admiral Dewey? He came back here
and the whole nation was rolling over
to get a chance to put its neck under
his foot.
Then George made a bad play-led
the wrong card or something-and he
got his from every hole and corner of
the country That's why I say it's
foolish for the man at the top to get
too funny, for the first thing he knows
some lad will come along with an ak
and cut off the limb he's sitting on, and
he gets bad fall.
FickIe Americans
We're tickle over here, very tickle. I
say we because I'm an American citi.
zen, even If was born in Cornwall, and
like the country and its ways and the
way 1t treated me. You get along
splendidly here until you get little bit
proud, and the minute you stick your
chin up in the air and try to look over
a housetop some fellow without any
particular malice just shoves a scant-
ling between your feet and when you're
kick you gently to remind you that it
won't do to get too gay.
I don't know but it's a good idea, for
it keeps a man in reasonable shape and
3
three sizes larger than is good for him.
But to get back to that color line
business. Maybe I'm bit freer in my
view than I would be If I'd been. born
in the south instead of England, but
then you see over there there are
mighty few negroes and they're not
looked on so much with the same eye
we look at them over here, and If a
man is going to be champion of the
world, and popular champion, he's
got to take care what the world thinks
Of him.
He's got to sacrifice some of his feel
ings If he's going to do that popular
idol business, for he can't forget thai
he's public figure in a way, and he's
got to do what the public want him tC
do or get off the top step.
Just as long as there are men Of goot
red blood in the world there will bt
fighters and the fellow who does all hi
can to keep his end of the game up will
be the boy who's going to get the small
change that's going around.
I believe in meeting the negro If he''
got a look in, for if there's any public
sympathy going to be spilled around,
want to get it for myself, and it makes
a chap feel lot more comfortable.
Mind you, I'm not saying that tn
men who have drawn the color line ar
wrong, but do think they were hasty
The grip a fighter has on the publ
isn't any too strong anyway, and h
wants to put sand on his hands to hol
on to what he's got.
Don't draw the color line. boys
While it may save your fine feeling
that you have gathered up since yo
reached the top, it's going to splash
bit of mud on the record you've 60
framed and hanging up in the oil
folks parlor.
The Purity Of Burnett's Vanilla