The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1906-05-11

into ring, Bit you are doing that
very thing when you let yourself ges2
roped into sitting up buying booze for
"a crowd that wouldn't give you Il, Q
nickel il you begged on the street.
I'm telling you that man stands q:
mighty poor show in this world If he
sets out to. chase the devil around the.
bush. The old gentleman has a whole.
lot the best Of you, and he'll make It
interesting for YOU all right. ST. Sd,
ts What started out to say, though
was that men retire. pretty early IN
these days Of the ring, and the reason:
is, Of course, that when they get licked
once they go down the road pretty
swift. Then We. go back to the reason
they get licked. It's not always be-
cause they meet q better, man; its
just as often because they meet 3
man who is just as good as they were
once, and that they're not as good as
they used to be-. That gives the other
fellow an edge on them that counts
for whole lot. Then comes the time
when they know. right inside them
selves that they've done their best, and
that they're sliding down the wrong
side. They find they're getting slow,
and that their eyes aren't as good or
as quick, and their muscles don't
work the same, and-then they re-
tire, @s. ~ '=s&
) That's the tough part of it. Some
Of them make provision for what they
see coming, but they're mighty few
and far between A few of them an
nounce that they've decided that the
fighting game is too rough and coarse
for them, and that they think they'll
go on the stage and wind up as act
ors. That pans out mighty seldom.
for while. a fellow is at the top or
near the top, he's valuable as drawing
card, but when his popular drawing
value is gone, he's not enough Of an
actor to make good on that line alone.
and the finish comes when the show
goes on the rocks, or he gets gentle
hint that, he's dead one, and the
show can get along without him. It's
the wise man that knows enough to re-
tire. when he feels it coming on, or
that has another good job up his
sleeve where he can hike and go right
on earning money.
Ash think said, many men retire,
and We never hear of them again,
while others manage to- get along do
ing odd jobs or touching their friends.
Go back over the list of fighters you
used to- know, 10 or Is years ago.
Where are they? What are they do
ing? How many of them can you put
Your finger on and say: "That old boy
is doing pretty we'll in his old age?'
How many of:them have just dropped
out Of sight and have :! never been
heard of again? I'd hate to have to
make UP a list Go back eight years,
and find the old-timers who were
headed up the ladder. Where are
they? Gone, and not a jot-doe the
general public care where.
You've got to go back to first prin-
c1ples In the fighting game, as in every
thing else. If you burn the candle
at both ends, you're going to- have
light but little while. Maybe it'll
he bright and fancy while it lasts, but
it won't last long. The fighter gets
il worse than any other class of men.
Principally because he's depending on
his physical bowers to keep. him to
the front, and the minute he hurts
those, he Nsinks his value to himself
It's just like having $1,000 in the bank
and then putting on steam, and see'
ing just how fast it will 60. The
man Of the ring who dissipates is
craving down on his principal all the
time, and when the physical bank
ruptcy comes, he's not a cent to meet
it, and goes broke. Maybe that's long
winded, but it's matter that I can't
stop talking about when I get started