Evening journal., 1910-01-17
DON'T BLAME MEN
FOR "PLAY-:ACTING"
Fighters Are Reaping Harvest
Now, and Ball Players Have
Cut in on the Play

NEW YORK. Jan. 17.--"Jeffries and
johnson are doing too much OF that
stage stuff" That's common express
sion these days when the subject OF
their fight comes up. But who can
blame them? The complainers prob
ably never stopped to think of the gol-
den harvest the two big men are reap
ing. They are theatrical magnets OF
< -ys greatest power, as the receipts OF
Jeffries show just for last week
will attest.
II Frazee. who is backing the
mine. saws that the gross receipts or
tho transforming trip Of six days
amounted 10 s2s,S00 Of which the ath-
letic company drew down S14.8SS. The
clear pront was S10.090. and Jeffries
drew as his share $6,4SS.9S. The week
before JEFF pulled down SG100 for his
end. and it Is conservatively estimated
that when the tour is at an end the big
white man will be enriched by more
than $4,000. That IS going some.
But Jeffries is only one of many who
are growing ahiuent through the med
ium of the calcium light. Jack johnson
Is booked for eleven weeks on the road
and is getting a guarantee OF $1,000
a week for his little act And there
are others. Tommy Burns, eN-cham-
pion. too. If YOU please, is drawing
about 81. 500 every Saturday night for
doing stunt benind the footlights
in Australia. And then there Is Bat
fling Nelson. The public dips deeply
into IFS pockets TO hear him tell now
he licked this or that fellow. Then
there Is Jim Corbett and John l.. Sui
livan. long since passed into the dis
cards of the fighters, but who are sull
making money on their past reputa-
tions as champions
Even the ballplayer has come before
the public as a success ON the stage
imagine what a fine yell for the hook
there would be for Donlin II he APP
peared on the stage and tried TO say
something II he had not been the great
slucrcr Mike of the. Giants. Then
there is joe Tinker, who probably has
some histrionic ability. but whose bid
for stage fame is based on the foun-
dation of his being one of the greatest
shortstops in the country and MEM
her Of a two-time worlds worlds
championship team. Red" Doom. the
new manager Of the Phillios, has shown
some real worth as an actor, but his
drawing power Is increased by his
bau-playing ability.
But it's the fighter who is the real
money getter. and no will continue to
he such so long as there is a place
where sthe cove wot loves milw has a
chance to pay his tribute, as the Chi
cago Tribune says.
New Opinion on the Fight.
Opinions galore have been handed out
anent that Jeffries-Johnson scrap, but
here is an anonymous declaration which
Goes not sound so bad:
II don't think Jack Johnson has one
chance in a thousand of winning from
Jim Jeffries except on a foul" says the
critic. 1--WE figured every angle OF the
big fight and have come TO one conclu-
sion and that is. Jeffrles will never lose
10 the negro except on a foul. He'll
have two of the shrewdest men in the
game in his corner-Jim COrbett and
kid" McCoy-and they'll put him next
TO all the inside dope. Jim is a crafty
boy himself, and will feel the big negro
out as soon as they get together. 1t
won't take him long to decide whether
he can win or not, and If he makes up
his mind that the negro is too good
for him, / look for some fine Jockey
ing.
"The picture man has hardly figured
on this angle OF the fight. 1t will knock
his graft higher than a kite. No chance
TO handle Jen. He's one fighter that
can't be dictated to or controlled. /
know he has a big interest in the pic
ture privilege. but even that will not
be sufficient TO persuade him TO stick
IL out and take a hiding from johnson.
The finish viii be like the Cans Nelson
night when Siler handed the decision
TO Cans on a foul. But the Jeffries-
johnson fight viii never last as long
as the Nelson Cans contest at Cold
field. II Jef is good enough to go twen-
ty-five rounds with the negro he'll win.
But if he finds out that the negro
has it on him, the fight may not go
five rounds.
Two More for the Circuit.