The San Francisco call., 1910-07-10


SS@S2SgS~e from the Southern Pacific be-
! cause that company wanted all
& I the business. That is pretty
I hard thing to say about any man
t......S..4...t and don't believe it of Gillett
He is too much of man to be ordered about like
that at the prompting of sordd motive 1t is not
impossible perhaps that some of his close advisers
had something of the sort the back of their heads
but they would not dare to broach it to Gilett
What finally moved the governor / do not know
in fine the motives that govern human action
not simple but highly complex. If Gillett himself
asked to explain all his reasons it might prove
very confused schedule.
IN ONE WORD
met Bill Naughton just after the 5ett
Who won the fight, Bill?"
Reno"
Naughton probably had written hundred thou
sand words about the fight, but he could have put
1t all in that The only fight there was San
Francisco lost and Reno won.
KEEPING DARK
Il. was odd thing about the coored population
looked over the big audience pretty closely and
could see scarcely any spots of color. But the
minute after the final round the place seemed TO
swarm with them. Perhaps they had been keeping
dark.
There had been some talk about possible race
riot Johnson won, but it was the widest nonsense
II there any tincture of race feeling in that
crowd II If was kept well in the background 1t was
not even noisy audience and there was nothing at
all OF the mob spirit which so commonly moves
big crowd to common impulse. I believe the
searching rays of the desert sun made them sleepy
THE PROCESSION OF GHOSTS
L
hour while Billy Jordan trotted out seemingly
endless company of ghosts and we had to listen to
their speeches. 1t a melancholy parade of
defunct pugilists, each In sweating to sup
port the dignity of extinct volcano on the impu
dence of potato peeling One does not care to
sit under scorching sun for five minutes listen
ing to speech liberty by William Muldoon
/ wanted to throw a carrot him.
DEFUNCT FIsTICUFFERS
This astonishing rite was concluded bv lining I'D
all the extinct 1sticuffers in row where they might
be photographed. Then Sharkey rose from the
dead and challenged the winner. Perhaps he had
better consult Jefries before he insists on his fell
resolve So it might be urged in defense of pugilisn
that-an attendance the functions of the prize
ring promotes belief in immortality.
HAPPY AND GOOD NATURED
I stood near big Sam Langford the colored
pugist, while the crowd was jamnling its way out
OF the arena a little sflipe that nIght have weighed
130 pounds pushing and squeezing his way and
Langford asked him to go easy.
What makes you so cross, black MANI" perked
up the little fellow hotly Langford grinned like
the happy good humor of these colored folk There
IS no em alive. fee 70 fun business about them.
DULL, sIcKENING THUDs ON SALE
Fighting is. of course. purely matter of busi
ness with all pugilsts. There is the slightest pos
sible anmosity about prize fight. Simply they
put price on the dull, sickening thud and have
made commodity of the Timber iointed walIop.
There are no hard feelings, or no more than might
easily grow out of transaction in potatoes They
make the plea with almost pathetic simplicity that
ii is business like any other and therefore invested
with that peculiar sancty attaching to all forms of
money making that do not lead directly TO the
penitentiary.
HOW ABOUT THE ARGUMENT
FROM DESIGN?
My experience at the ringside is of course
extremely limited, but must confess that I could
see nothing especially brutal about the fight at
Reno. think could have convinced my excellent
friend Doctor Ollie of that fact Man is essentially
a fighting animal and was so created presumably
by design, if there is design in the scheme of the
universe Now. the prize ring has reduced this