The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1910-03-11
AN IMPUDENT negro
JACK JOHNSON'S DISGRACEFUL
RECORD
Attempts TO Sit Among New YOfk'S
400"

i
away.
John Arthur j. a living example of
starting off wrong and keeping on 60
ing i'm the same direction. His first
memorable battle with John Lay was
in Galveston when ne assisted Joe
Choynski to break the law against
prize-fighting. Choynsk nearly broke
Johnson's jaw at the same time and
both men went to Jail.
That was Jacks first office, and be-
cause he wasn't champion at that
time, but only negro deckhand, he
was forced to serve out a sentence in
the city prison. For several years
Jack carried around with him a photo
graph of himself looking through the
bars.
Having started his career with
double defeat at the hands of ChOnySkt
and John Law-the former knocking
him out for half an hour and the lat
ter laying him low ror several days
John Arthur has been humping into
the law ever since with varying re
suits.
Johnson hasn't won many decisions
in the courts. He blocked and stalled
and stood flatfooted, but somehow the
law always managed to nose him out
During his pork and bean record
Johnson was never arrested for speed
ing an automobile, neither was he
often hailed before the bar of justice
to answer to a charge of disorderly
conduct. In his hungry years John
son was often pinched for evading the
payment of his bills. Every little
while the pop bottle KohinoOrs would
disappear from Jacks fingers and
shirt front and he would be asked in
to court to explain why he hadn't paid
his tailor or something like that.
Since money began to come John
sons way his offenses have been more
frequent. They are also of a more
aristocratic character flavor. He has
learned to say good morning, judge"
i'm seven different languages, and he
has paid out enough money in fines to
keep the entire negro quarter of Gal
vaston in pork chops for some months.
There have also been other trials for
offenses neither public nor printable.
Johnson's conduct during the past
year has not been of a sort to make
friends for himself or for his race.
Believing as he does, that his position
as a champion of the world allows
him to get away with all sorts of
things, Johnson has become reckless
and foolish. Ii he ever knew his
place, he has forgotten it. An ordi-
nary, day-laboring negro charged with
some of the offenses committed by
Johnson would have spent a long time
in jail.
His appearance at the last Wander
bilt cup race was an excellent example
of Johnson's lack of judgment. He
thought he was entitled to enter the
box section of the grandstand and sit
with the four hundred. Even the
champagne bottle in the side pocket
of his fur overcoat made no impress
ion on the special officers. They
''shooed" him away.
His last offense' was before New
York grand jury, he had brutally
beaten a little negro weighing about
125 pounds, a cOnsumptive, who
aroused his ire by making the state
ment that he remembered the time
that Johnson was glad to drink beer
out of pail.
Johnson's rOudy conduct will have
its effect upon the boxing game. Now
adays there are many well-behaved
young men making living with
their fists. They do not get drunk,
they do not attempt to force their
society upon those who do not care
to meet them, and they do not hammer
defenseless citizens just because they
are strong enough to get away with
ii. Such men have raised the stand
ard of the game in this country; they
have gone far to dispel the idea that
a prizefghter is always a drunken
rowdy, ready with his fists at all
times.
Johnson needs guardian who will
keep him from making more of fool
of himself than Is absolutely neces-
sary. q good stiff jail sentence with
out the option of fine will 20 a long
way toward tanning this champion and
cooling the hot blood of the speed
maniac. So far a. we have been able
to learn, there is no reason why
champion prizefghter should have a
license to break the laws of the coun-
try. Very few of our white cham
pions have ever tried to do it. JEFF
fries was a champion for several years.
Nobody ever heard that Jim had a
police court record. Johnson has
been in this country for less than
year since winning his championship,
and he has been arrested every few
weeks since he has been here, with
more arrests in prospect
Every sporting man i'm the country
hopes that Johnson's penchant for
getting himself pinched will not in
terfere with the BIZ fight. 1T took a
long time to get white mantle
only white man who has chance to
beat the black champion-out Of his
comfortable retirement, and, having
got jeff hooked in, 1t would b. Al
shame if anything should happen to
call the whole thing or Indefinitely.
Please be good Johnson
After July Fourth you can 20 a. far
as you like get 40 years If you like
but at the present time three or four
months in the Bastile would be fatal.