The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1910-09-22
JEFF COULDN'T COME BACK
Johnson Explains Fight Result To
Montpelier Reporter


Jack" Johnson, champion heavy.
weight pugilist Of the world, passed
through Montpelier Monday on an
a~cmob,fe trip AID while at the cap
ltal city was interviewed by a Mont
pelier Journal reporter;
~The giant fighter permitted a Jour
nal representative to see him in his
room last evening and he talked in
terestingly for about half an hour.
Johnson dresses plainly, but wears a
big diamond ring of considerable
horse power and another of the same
magnitude in his shirt front Mrs.
Johnson who is a white woman and
very good cooking was attired in a
blue skirt and white shirt waist, the
fingers Of one hand being almost
completely covered with diamonds.
She also wore a diamond sunburst.
Johnson is Just the right sort of
man that the newspaper men like to
meet. He talks easy and does not
have TO be pressed for an opinion.
Speaking of some other members of
the fistic art who have expressed a
willingness to fight him Johnson said
that the only one that had any class
connected with him was Kaufman,
but others such as Tommy Burns and
Iangford whose press agents have
been active lately, he pronounced
Jokes He laughed when Sharkeys
name was mentioned saying that it
was so well known that the Mayor
of Fourteenth street couldn't come
back that even the end men in the
minstrel shows long ago discarded
Sharkey as a Joke.
"Ketchell, he said, was game
fighter who had the right kind of sta
nina But said Johnson, Tn out of
the game for one sold year. ! work
ed pretty hard preparing for the Reno
encounter and / think I'm entitled to
little rest For a year I intend to
| blow around and at the same time
con out a little coin
'Jeffries was a game fighter and
put up a good battle at Reno said
Johnson. He did not fall apart be
fore the fight occurred and he stayed
up until his strength was exhausted.
That's all there is to It You see the
sporting writer's who were sent out
to cover the event threw so much hot
air while we were in training that
they had to think MP all kinds OF
more Of less plausible excuses after
the bout had been pulled off In order
to make good with the public and in
cidentally. with their own bosses
| cs,.,.- - A. Joro aJtccop,ipofad NV fhe
sporting reporters before the fight
and a whole lot that they have un
burdened themselves Of since was al
wrong. II was simply a case o.
couldn't come back Jim Is n goot
fellow and a clever fighter IN his day
You understand lot Of stuff that thu
newspapers hvae attributed to boil
Jeff and I has been inspired by The
soreheads. some Of whom lost large
amounts. on the result Of the fight ant
others are sore for different reasons
"T can't understand why some cit
les have refused TO allow the fight pic
lures to be shown saw them toda'
IN Plattsburg. There Is nothing re
pulsive about them. Here was n GOO
square fight. fought strictly accordln
10 the rules and yet some places do
clined to grant operators OF movin
picture houses permission to sho'
them but these same people who OF
iect 10 fight pictures will 90 to
show and sit through an hour. a
some burberry drama that hangs O
the verv brink Of downright immora
ity. What effect does that sort q
stuff have on the uniformed minds O
D Young children You have seen thes
shows yourself. You have SEEM hoy
women go wrong, how men reveng
themselves by shooting and stahbln
another I'm the back. how women ar
lured 10 their ruin. 'and IN some case
the whole Aim Is reeking with the al
coholic atmosphere Of dens OF vice
And yet they bar fight pictures. Say
30 do YOU suppose that q man woul
pull gun or draw knife In a ba
room fghi n he knew how TO defenl
himself with his hstse II all mo
better understood the art there woul
be less hloodshed and murder In Oh
world
why did fire George Little
Huh, Say-that fellow Is a hug
Joke. 7 hired him because reall
didn't know him. He tried 10 n,
nv fight with Jeff and then It was al
on. He earned more money when h
was my manager than he ever say
I'm his life or will ever see again.
Maid him over $4,000. was goln
to fire him anyway He Is the pro
. nrietor ~ n house OF illfame and
don't want anything like that aroun
me Nix on the rldraft
" No. don't think that race pre-
iudlce has anything TO do with H.
said Johnson. reverting to the pl'
lures. They, we're shown In Ne'
York CITY and thousands saw theI
there. They have been shown In di
ferent PLACES and never caused an
trouble People are not as marrow
minded today MS they were n fe'
years back The world Is becomln
more enlightened every day. VIII
should the black race or the Chimes
race or any other race be barred frol
privileges enjoyed by the white mo
simply because Of the acts Of n fe
individuals belonging 10 either race
II YOU came In here with party
} friends do you think I'd throw va