The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-06-28
JOHN L. Talks IT ovER
Tells How He and Mitchell Became
Friends While in Jail.
~ John 1, Sullivan.


(By. John L, SuIlivan.l
MY coming battle with C,harlsx,
a1ltcheu viii be- without hard feeIine
because We have been pretty rrood
1l aI7 since the time we occupied
cells IN Jail in France After o7Ir Tar1
ana bloody fight at ChantiIIv fba
T Iench cops arrested US 1t was a.
long way from Boston Commons 7
aaqn recovered from a chill I got in
ngnung in the rain and rnud and
Mitchell was sore inside ana ont he
cause of the clouting I had handed
ann. was pretty lonesome and when
gfoWled at the turkeys, they peIt-
60 me With parleyvoos I couldn't un-
Mitchell could talk z, sort of ham
strung French that the keepers could
puzzle out, but he wouldn't saw much
% me. l tried to get Charley to be
lang sllQ TAX Tor me, but at first he
MouIon.G say much that was ft for
print. l felt the chill coming back for
announcer call, and when Charley found
tf1aL It was necessary for me to have
some brandy, he pigeon Frenched the
news to the keepers, and they, like
good chaps, produced. Mitchell took
hooker himself, and it eased his
wounds so that before we got our re-
lease we were pretty good friends.
Charley is a good mixer. When we got
free OF the dungeons, I invited Nit
chel to have dinner with me, and he
accepted the call, as he had a healthy
British appetite along.
Ihere'u be no sparring across the
table, was the condition Mitchell put
on the dinner invitation.
Not any, said I; 'I won't even
throw a plate at you
That eating contest was to a finish,
and those who saw US put away the
food declared it a draw.
My advice to young men who want
to get on in the world is: BE a good
mixer" In my time I have met all
kinds of people from Teddy and the
present king of England, down to One
Eyed Connolly, and with all I've been
able to shake-a-day-day and break
even. All of the men in my business who
have stayed long before the public.
were fellows who were able to make
themselves popular when out Of the
ring. Jeffries never had many strong
friends although winning many admir-
ers by his work. Fitz has been pOpu-
lar, and is always a good card what
ever he does. Corbett's hatband was
always spreading, and he passed out
early. Jack Dempsey held his thou
sands of friends until the end.
am having happy days right
along, because I made friends who
stuck. Perhaps paid full prices for
popularity, but I'm satisfied. Every
town hit on my travels there are
friends waiting with the glad hand
and the icy mitt I've never felt. Had
been a prig in the days when the
goose was higher. it would have been
down and out for yours truly, long
ago.
MY idea of a good mixer is the man
who is governor of my state, little old
Massachusetts,. He is going to side
step politics and I guess the reason is
because he don't like to play favorites
even for his own side. He's Demo-
crat who's been mayor of his town
where there was a majority Of Social
lists His private secretary and right
hand man is a Republican. He's q
for the money. He's a church member
who can meet the ward worker on
easy terms. Don't you think man
who can mix this way is going to do
we'll? Sure thing. The worst start
in life to give a boy is to convince him
that he's too good to play with boys
who may not have as many grand
fathers as he has. It is because we are
a nation of good mixers that we beat
the world in everything that's worth
while