The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-06-02
GRAND JURY FOR
FAKE FIGHTERS
Manhattan Believes This
Would Be Good Way to
Cleanse Boxing Game.
BY MANHATTAN.

How long are the fight-fakers and dis
honest fight promoters and managers to
go unpublished? What reason has the
public to believe that any of the fighters
of big or little renown. or any of the
managers who have been engaged in fis-
tic promotions are not as dishonest us
O'Brien, as Root, as Wolcott as Ryan,
as Britt and as Cans?
And how long before the authorities
are going to take such action tc punish
these men for their dishonesty?
If the grand juries were to look into
the methods of that eminent business
man." Billy Gee and his conduct of the
affairs of Tommy Burns il would be
good thing. Gee has declared that he has
known for considerable period that
Burns was crooked. and he brings for
ward letters to prove that he, Gee. was
telling the truth. But it appears that
Gee did not have anything to say about
Burns being a crook until after Burns
had dispensed with Gees services as
manager, and Gee thereby lost p per
cent of the gross earnings of the crooked
Mr.. Burns
Looks Bad for Gee.
According to his own showing. what
sort of a rating can Gee expect from
the public? Perhaps he is an eminent
business man. as his friends :, declare are
line of business-prize fighting-with
Burns. whom he says is a crook?
How can Gee escape responsibility for
backing a crook and taking the publics
money knowing all the time that Burns
was dishonest? Certainly Mr.. Gee has
strange idea of business methods
The point is that Gees estimate of him
self will he fully concurred i'm by the
public and his business" talents in the
future should be devoted to some other
line Of work than the backing of prize
fighters. particularly when the prize
fighter is known to be crooked by Mr..
Gee himself
If this Burns-O Brien case was an iso-
lated one Il would not be so bad but as
a matter of fact it is simply the latest
and perhaps the most ill-srnelling of a
long series of similar swindles the
sport-lovinG public.
The public is duly warned. With each
fighter. promoter and manager declaring
the other to be thief and crook the
simple thing is for the public to remain
away from all fistic exhibitions until
clean-handed men can become interested
in the noble art
Even the great Jefferies has declared
that Jack O'Brien offered him sS0.oe0 to
fix fight
Jefferies saws O'Brien was the first and
only man wha ever asked him TO do
crooked thing in the ring. Why didnt
Jefferies say this before Why did he
allow O'Brien to go around posing as
the gentleman fighter" when he knew
him TO be a crook? How can Jefferies
excuse himself?
AS roatter of fact have not the fight
ers and their managers imposed Upon
the public long enough? And is il not
because the ring thieves have, fallen out
among themselves that they have taken
to telling the truth about one another?
If the fighters and their managers and
promoters are all crooked. there Will be
nothing to look forward to except FIXED
bouts by dishonest men. who in accent
ing the publcs money are IN reality rob-
bling them nuite much as If they
picked a pocket
There is no reason why the public
should go to see them or their fake per-
formances. and there is no reason why
any reputable newspaper should even
print their names.
IL is time that an effort was made TO
rid the sporting world Of its crooks.
There is a fine opportunity for men of
clean hands who desire TO promote le-
Ultimate sport. and unless they accept
ii and drive the crooks out IL is only a
matter of time when the sport will meet
a well deserved and unlamented death.
LII. Al, o.rn.o.,dit11r.n of so f0n nlsn nr,