The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1906-03-23
Copyright, by Joseph b. Bovlss.)
THE COLOR LINE IN PUGILIsM

colored man is peculiarly fitted to be
pugilist in some ways and just as unfit
for it in other ways, but there will al
ways be a few of them with both quail
titles combined.
You'll hear lot of men tell you that
drawing the color line won't affect a
record. That's all foolishness. 1t will
and it must, because for a man to be
champion in any class he must meet
all the men who think they have a
chance to get the championship away
from him, and if one or two of those
chaps are negroes, there will always ex-
list doubt as long as he refuses to meet
them. claim the middle-weight cham
pionship and the only reason I hold it.
is because beat the best men at that
weight. No colored man has yet come
running up to tell me he thought he
could wallop my head off and take it
away from me, but if he did I'm inclined
to think I'd have to give him battle
for it.
Now others are different When a
fighter is working along trying to get a
whack at everything that stands be-
tween him and the top notch, you don't
hear much about any color line, and it's
only when he gets to sitting on the top
step and flaming himself with 500
panama hat that he begins to see any
thing funny looking about black hide.
guess it's just human nature: A fel-
low feels he can get finicky with his likes
and his dislikes when he gets near the
top, and perhaps it won't do to blame
him over much for that, for he's worked
pretty hard for his job and can af-
ford to take a chance now and then.
Not,that it's right, however, for it isn't
The laws of the United States say that
black man is as good as white
man. That's as it may be, but the
fact remains that if there is an extra
good colored man in line for the perch
on the top bough, and the champion
lOOke"1at him through a smoked tele-
scope and says he's not meeting colored
parties right then, there's whole lot
of men who'll sheer in a nasty way and
say:
''Of course it's all right, but it looks
as if he's little bit leary of that black
and tan proposition, and maybe he is.
From the way the chocolate man talks
he's got good stuff in him and so-and-So
ought to give him a chance anyway" :.
That's the talk. t..
Understand me, I'm not taking up
sides on the question or saying what
onx mon o,,oht or o,,oht mt to IN Pm
the boy in the lookout taking a peek
over the situation, and l know that's
the way lot of the sporting element
talk. If there's anything an American
likes, it's q fair shake for everybody all
around. Mind you, I'm not talking
about crooks, short-card men and tin
horns, but: theiAmerican people as
class, or perhaps I'D better say the An
glo-Saxon people. If chap behaves
himself and Is decent in his askings, and
gets turned down by the big finger,
/ there's a>whole lot Of sympathy going
saround for the ydown-trodden colored
brother, and that's NO message from a
dream book either. That's why say
drawing the color line can affect mans
record, because you see tits not proved
that the colored man can't knock his
daylights out, and while there is no say
ing that he can, still there's always the
chance that he might. It's not bit of
good for Bob Ftzsimmons, we'll say, to
stand up, and howl through p. mega
phone that he's the champion, il he
can't prove, It. y The only way he can
prove it is to step down of the pedestal,
pull on the gloves and go, out after that 4
climbing darby and either give or take /
one good licking. ~, = p. - !. ):
I've met negroes and I've always
found them so and SO. I, don't mean
that they're easy, for they're not; bnt i
never saw one yet that could get away
with me anyway, and maybe that's why
I'm not refusing any Of them that have
q legitimate claim, chance TO get
what's coming to them - q: &s' s 81 1. s.:
:. Jeffries drew the, color line and
think he made mistake I don't want
to. seem to- be criticising Jeff in any
way. because g. man has right to run
his own game to. suit himself, but I do
think he made mistake. because It al
ways leaves that openingain q, mar, IS
record. q man can't be cham zion Tor
ever, because there's always some young
fellow coming along who has . look ID, !
and he has the chance to- hand you the
punch that will send you on to the !
shadows. It's always been SO, and
while q lot Of them have stayed a long
while, they always get theirs IN the
END. Some Of them try to retire ami
hand the champ onship over Y some
other fellow, but yon'll find there's .
string tied to the gift and they sudden
FIX drag It back again.
Corbett gave the belt over to Peters