Evening journal., 1909-12-14
WHY COAST
WANTS THE FIGHT
Estimated That Those Who
See JeffrieS and Johnson
Battle Will Spend
$l,OOO,OOO

NEW YORK. Dec. 14.-San Fran
cisco is pulling every available wire
TO land the Jeffries and Johnson fight
for their city. Tex Richards talk that
he wants to have it take place at Salt
Lake city is worrying the folks of he
Golden Gate like a wayward child does
It's parents. The native sons arc
pointing out the natural advantages
that exist in their state over those in
any part of the one the Mormons come
from or rather stay In
Here is the way Harry b. Smith
talks about it,
There is no city more poorly sit
uated for The handling OF "a big cham
pionship fight than is Salt Lake city.
This fact is apparent to those who
have studied the situation. Salt Lake
is some twenty-four hours travel
from Denver, the first city OF any i'm
1ortance to the east and twenty-six
aours from San Francisco on the west.
70 the immediate west is Nevada,
which will not be able to add much in
drawing power on the south is Ari-
zona. on the east Colorado. with Den
YER far off. and 20 the north is Idaho.
salt Lake. although 1t claims a pop
lNllDN UA AaNfNNNf IL Etatu W nave AlUA
more than 100000 residents. and OF
aese many OF the Mormon faith, so it
rs asserted, would be opposed to the
boxing game. ogden, with something
Ike $1,000 people, is close at hand,
within forty miles, but while there
are number OF smaller towns. no
arge centres of population from which
o draw.
No Advantage for Fasteners.
TIE custern man coming west TO
The fight, would travel almost as
cheaply 20 San Francisco, and would,
doubtless. prefer to come direct to the
coast San Francisco would have it's
own large population as well as the
cities I'm the immediate vicinity, such
as Oakland, Sacramento, Stockton. San
Jose. Fresno and a host of smaller
places TO the south there is the Los
Angeles country, and TO the north
Oregon and Washington.
These facts will count when it comes
to drawing the crowd that will be nee
essary to make up a 100000 gate. and
unquestionably they will be taken into
consideration.
Just figure this out: Within a
radius of three hours travel from San
Francisco there are 100000 people
The same distance around Salt Lake
there are not to exceed 200 600 peo-
Pile"
Before Jim Coffroth started east he
had the signatures Of the leading bust
ness men of san Francisco that they
would subscribe to the club If lie sue
ceeded in getting the fight for their
city. and they were just about as
crazy as any fox that ever chased
over the country. They knew that the
fight would bring thousands of tour
lists to the city. and a conservative
estimate of the amount of money that
would be left in the town is estimated
at close to s1.00o,000-quite a piece OF
change to gather up I'm a few weeks
in any community.
OF course, the collecting Of the S1O1. 20
600 for the fight is not regarded as
very hard. It's the pictures those in
terested in the contest are figuring
on, and Rickard would probably as
soon hold the bout in Utah as in San
Francisco, even though that point is
much more inaccessible than the
coast town.
He Ought to Know.
In the pictures is where the real
gravy comes in" said Lou Housman,
who has some sort of an interest in the
taking of the films of the fight while he
was i'm this city. Il had the Illinois
rights to the Corbett and Fitzsimmons
pictures, and paid Dan stuart over
100000 I'm royalties. II Jeffries wins
over Johnson the pictures of their
battle will be worth at least $1,000 ,OOO."
That's the biggest money talk yet,
and If Housman is honest in declaring
his turn-in of the Corbett- -Fitzsimmons
pictures as from one state, he Is about
right in his prediction this time.