Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-03

Il
during this little gym bout as being so
terrifically fast rs he is reported to De,
yet 1t may well be that the reports as 10
his velocity haven't been exaggerated
They're a pretty keen lot of prlZeneht
dopists and critics down yonder in Aus
tralia, and If they all reached the unanl-
nous conclusion. as they seem tove
done. that Johnson is the swiftest heavy
weight proposition that ever put on
glove under the radiance of the southern
Cross. then there must be something IN
it, for there have been some speedy
propositions in the ring in Australia.
Jeffries All Through.
1t looks as If the promoters and others
who expect Jeff to come out OF his cave
and fight Johnson are leaning on reed
so to speak.
Jeff, according to every indication on
earth. is all through. He's not necessari-
~ to be regarded as pig-headed person
because he says and means that he is
through
There never was prize fighter in this
or any other land who took the training
business so severely to heart as Jim
Jeffries did in his active fighting days. Tie
just naturally Ioathed and despised and
hated the training gag. 1t made him as
savage as a wild bull. 1t Is part of the
inside history of the game that Jeffries
habitually became so sore and irritable
under the hardships Of training that his
handlers had to constantly watch out for
themselves. He was almost irresponsi-
BILE under the gruelng privations Of train
ing. and mere word. meant in jest ana
with nary a sting attached to it, frequent
w, To fri f~ OH oct
the word as If the latter had meant
deadly insult. 1 heard 1t said by re-
sponsible man not long ago that during
the severe drying out process when, TWEEN
ty-four hours before a fight. pugillst Is
not allowed even a sip of water or any
other sort OF liquid, Jeffries had actually
to be locked into a room In his training
quarters, he was so bitter about the thing.
No wonder either. Jeff always had to
take off heap Of meat, and that meat
removing gag is one of the things that
only looks easy in one of those obesity
cure advertisements. No wonder that
the big chap hated the training thing
worsen rattleSnakeS.
Another thing: 1 met yesterday man
who has just returned from Los Angeles,
where he'd been attending the races. He
saw Jeff every day at his Los Angeles
maison de booze, and he told me that If
jeff doesn't weigh 800 pounds he doesn't
weigh an ounce. He said that the
ally hog fat, and prize hog fat at that,
and he added that there isn't man on
the Pacific slope familiar with the fighting
game and it's eXactions who figures for
one-eighth of a second that JEFF ever
would be able to get back into the ring
and give any sort of an account of him.
self whatever. Jeff isn't old, but his
shape has settled" He hasn't drank
anything worth mentioning, but he's
huge eater and now he has what is
known as a distended stomach, and he
never could. SO the reliable word runs.
get that stomach to behave If he were TO
attempt to get himself down TO any
reasonable kind of fighting weight.
Two Solemn Promises.
Additionally, SO my informant who's
been in Los Angeles informs me. jeff S
Los Angeles rum plant is the finest kind
of a moneymaker, and Jeff isn't and never
was a lad who had eczema of the palm
When he was fighting he wanted enough,
but not any more than that, and he never
showed the slightest disposition to hog
things. Jeff has a fine paying business
Il splendid ranch, a big passel Of spinach
in the bank. he weighs 800 pounds and
likes his comfort in slippers and things
That's the situation with reference to
him.
Moreover. he IS bound by two solemn
promises.
He promised his wife, before his last
fight that he would never get into an
other ring in fighting toys. 1t wasn't any
slap-dash promise made in an impusive
moment, but a dead-solemn compact,
which he entered upon with his spouse
after both OF them had gone over the
whole thing time and again.
The other promise he made to his dad
Jeffs dad as all hands know. is a clergy
man. He's not only clergyman, but he
always was ag'in the fighting thing
through and through. During a consid-
cradle part of Jef's ring career his dad
wouldn't speak to him, 1 have been told
by people who know. Wei, Jeff promised
the old man. too, before he went into the
ring the last time. that that would be
about all for him. The old man gave him
the mitt on that promise, and the pact
was sealed.
There isn't the slightest likelihood on
earth that. even if jeff himself felt like
taking another wal'op at the old thing
either his wife or his dad would feel like
releasing him from these two promises
And Jeff always has been IL great sort
of an hombrey for keeping promises.
Miracles may have happened before and
may happen again, but ii sure looks as
if. the folks who look to Jeff to waIlep
Johnson have got several additional
smokes coming to them.