The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1908-01-13
JOHN L.
DREW THE
COLOR LINE
Champion Tells Of
Experiences Balks Against
Role in MelOdrama.

at was John BOYLE o'Reflly who first
advised me never to go into a ring with
a black man. remarked John ]. Sulli-
van recently In an interview. Nobody
who knew O'Reilly could accuse him OF
not being a friend to the negro, the right
kind of a friend, too, for he got himself
into a lot of serapes sticking up for the ;.
dark ones. | had my own idea of what s
ought to be done in the case of negro
fighters, of course, and when a friend like :
OaReilly backed 1t up there wasn't n.y.
thing more to be said.
"O'Reilly knew that l wasn't afraid OF
any man living, white, yellow, red or
black, and he Is on record for me as able
to wine up a ring with anything on two
feet when l was good. and | was good
for a dozen years, and that ought to be E
long enough to satisfy anybody but a lot S
of mlsflt sports who would have had their
kick coming even IL Id walloped all
colors with one hand tied behind my back.
"All the wise fellows who want the negro
to have a chance at the white man in
the ring, say Jack Johnson is as good a
tighter as Peter jackson. yet Johnson has
not done anything great except to help
out a lot of fakes, and If he could go up
against Jeffries he'd develop a saffron
streak that'd be a peach. Johnson is
telling what he can do to the dubs who
are claiming things In the heavy class,
Wnen yer DOuS KNOWS lllat all the So
called heavies now in the spotlight are
nothing better than middleweights and
Jack Dempsey could polish off a half
dozen OF them In the same ring.
''Some of the dark ones who gave mo
dares got a heap OF good advertising with
out taking any risk to their skins. They
were handled by white men who knew
how to tear off a lot of noise to boost
their game, and they drove me to drink
keeping me playing against them. But 1t
wasn't till jackson was dead that the
guessers tried to show that | was afraid
of Jackson. Nobody thought that when
the Australian was being touted, for good
judges like John Boyle o'Reilly. not 10
mention yours truly, knew a whole lot
better"
''since I passed out the news that I'd
get into a drama written to any measure
next season, several plays have been sent
to be by writer's who want to get a
s~trangle hold on Shakespeare, Clyde Fitch
and the rest Of them. Some of these plays.
if | got into them and could last. would
certainly be the cheese.
"One follow explained that | would como
on In the first act in an airship and res
cue the heroine from a band of bad VII
/ lies. In the second act | was TO be blown
up by anarchists. The third act was 70
be tame,, Tor all | would have. on manu-
for that was a ten-round go With the REL
I toM VII ldo lIf Alpi t5HSS VIZ 49,
farm. In the fourth act there was 70 be
a pistol battle with the promoters OF tne
fight trust or something like that, and IN
the fifth | was to jump a preclplce INTO =
tank of real water and pull off a happy
reunion with the heroine and her idiot
brother.
enough 20 hold me. b. told. this pay
writer. I've got SO many blowing ups IA
my time that a few more won't huft; 1ite
go with the mortgage sharp would be
Eood exercise all right, and I'd like to get
into that scrap with the fight trust, bus
Tho drop into the tank would make SUI
u splash where would the audience get
off? They'd have TO como in rubber coats
or bathing suits
he eidn't think the water would splash
much beyond the orchestra, W tire
greater the splash the more ii would iook
like the real thing, The last time / heard
from him was that he couldn't cut out me
drop into the tank that the whole play
worked up to that drop into the drink. |
told him we might come to terms, III ne
cut out the water tank and Work. III me
water wagon some way, for hefe's n TOT
of folks would come to see me on that.
'HThat bare knuckle argument they had
in Congress o while ago when a memoef
from Missouri demanded to be shown
and got a biff on the nose from q meiTher
from Mississippi. handing back a einut
under the eye, had more real fighting IN
1T than some of the championship battieS
that have been squeezed cut of late years.
! But the bare knuckle style has been OUT
| OF date Tor SOME VtdiHs dfh III tbt9t -
bates in Congress ought to be settled Win
soft gloves.
sThe bout was too short for Il deelsiaa-
something like the kind they have ~ nj.
! adelplia cluhs-but as far as IL went it
was pretty good. I'm in favor of eutti,aaiE
out the talk in Congress and debating with
gloves. but the thing ought To be doue
according to Queensbury rules, PAIRING
! out hitting in the clinches aud giving Il
fair count when a man goes down.
when statesmen get swapping Watipps
instead OF words the debates In Congress
will be more TO the point and there
wont be so much hot air palmed OH On
the public in exchange for salaries y
would put the professional boxers riEal
down TO business, too, aud al OF tneHl
would have TO talk less and hgnt more IA
order to get money If they had the exam
pic of the Congressional champions b.
fore them.
"fli bet the American people, would take
more interest in Il t~wenty-ronnd go IN CON-
gress over the tariff between Lodge q
Massachusetts the holder of the belt tar
long-distanee milling, anu Bailey. ne ne
words ON the subject between the 50 10
| gents. III they'd let the President rel.
cree ther'd be a s,S square ARA g. H. no l9r foul
! punching aud no fixed fights while ne was
ON the Job.
Boxers that are now getting glory be,
cause they are great on tootwofk anu
quick at pulling away tfoh swings arr ~
in the wrong. They VIII inu SOM ON aaaa
/ 1itDE tA9ititS d III w. 1NRN
then ali their balloons will go up. | Won
all my matches because | began to nsht
the moment the gong was tapped. That
| tor, and 1 went down at last, not because
my plan was punky, but because my bel
lows wouldn't stand the gaf.
Since my time there have been Just Two
| fighters who made good-Jeff and Fitz-in
the heavy class. Neither of these men are
called clever boxers, although they could
go some. They held on because they We're
| able to stay and fight. The smart ones
THAT do a specially of running away o
last long after they meet a fighter.
There are some promising men going 70
the bad in short fights because they use
up all their steam In foot racing, SO that
| when they get a slap or two they erumple
up like a dishrag. If they would keep
Quiet, take a few wallops for the sake OF
landing on the other fellow while they re
fresh they'd bring home the money 70
father oftener than they do,