The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-02-08

win came up to Los Angeles from his ranch and offered to bet e50,000 against $4O,000 that no anti-race-track law would pass the next session of the legislature In addition he was willing to bet a round sum that California would not stop race gambling in the next five years
 Why, it would be suicide to do it. he said. Now, there are thousands of tour ists who come here every winter because Los Angeles and San Francisco afford a little sport and recreation during the win ter period. Both cities would lose tre- mendously if racing were stopped. Why should 1t? We will have the cleanest and best sport here this winter ever known in the United States
 All of which goes to show how little even old-time wiseacres like Lucky Baldwin know about legislatures.
 While the racing folks have been get ting it good and hard from the law makers, the prize fighting game has been going along very smoothly with no cloud in the horizon, and all the prize rings busy and prosperous. But just as it was the confident opinion of all that the legis- lature would satisfy the demands of the morally scrupulous by giving the racing interests a probably fatal bump, there has come to light what the promoters of pu- gilism called a conspiracy" among some members of the legislature to throw prize fighting into the discard. It has aroused much righteous indignation among the devotees of the squared circle. Much hot language is being indulged in, and we're hearing what great good the prize ring is accomplishing for the youth of our country. Prize fighting is better and cleaner now than it ever was before In its history, says Eddie Smith, one of the sporting writers of authority on the coast.
 Tt is said that some of the men who have made up their minds to do their worst for the game of boxing are men who have become disgruntled through the fact that they have been overlooked in the matter of passes for the shows given in San Francisco.
 This, l am. sure. is not the case for while a man may have a spite to work out on some individual promoter, it hardly seems possible that he would so far forget himself as to try to cause legislation that would rob many thousands of people of chance to witness the best drawing sport in the world to spite one promoter or even every promoter in San Francisco.
 The boxing game is cleaner and bet ter ,4ian it has ever been In the history of the sport, and the legislators will cas- fly be convinced that they are on the wrong track of reform in trying to abol- ish a sport that has been relieved of all
 
 ons, and one that entertains so many thousands every year.
 "Of course, there are those men who believe that this world can only be made pure through the elimination of all sorts of amusement and sports unless it be croquet, lawn tennis. tiddledywinks, golf or button, button, who's got the button, and 1t is just possible that some such person may introduce a bill abolshing the boxing game. But with the game go- ing along in the clean manner that it has for the past few years, it seems to me that there are few in the senate who would vote to suppress it.'
 Jeffries hasn't yet decided whether he will fight Johnson. He is too busy earning his $250O a week as "vaude- vile artist" When that Is over, and if there is no other soft snap like it at hand, and Johnson has defeated Lang ford, and if he is in good form, and if the purse is big enough, why-well, he may fight the negro. Of course, 1T Langford sh ould come out victor in his contest with the champion, then the whole matter would have to be gone over again. But after all is said ana done, there is only one point involved,