The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1910-03-24
THE COLOR LINE
IS AN ASSET
White Scrappers, Seeing
Black Clouds, Get Into
Cyclone Cellar.
BY c. E. VAN LOAN.

New York, March pa more or less
celebrated boxer was once caught will
the merchandise. The goods were OF
him at the time; the goods were all over
him. As there wasn't one chance in a
million for him TO lie his way out of the
otiiiculty, he opened his mouth and told
a portion Of the truth-about a half por-
uon. be preIaced his confession with
the following argument:
Boxing Is a business with me. I am
a business man. If 1 see a business OPP
Portanity, 1 grasp it. L have put box
ing on purely commercial basis. Why
am any worse than any other conserva-
tive business man who refuses to take
chances? play the game safe at all
times"
And this from a young man whose
puSllsuc tran was so crooked that a
gopher snake would have broken his back
trying to follow it.
1t sounded all right-that talk about
rommereialism. Ii sounds all right until
you begin to think about the ultimate
eonsumer-the fellow who gives up his
IRON men at the gate because he believes
tnat he is going TO see two boxers doing
their level best. The ultimate consumer
would keep his money to buy bread if
ne thought the fighters Were going to
carry out pre-arranged plan which did
not include any jaw breaking or any
gore.
Coming right down to cases. there are
few fighters who can say that they never
saved" an opponent or stalled for de-
eision when hard fighting would have
won by a knockout.
While the white men have not been
blamele IS in this respect, the blacks have
been the worst offenders. There are
plenty of good healthy reasons for this
ttate of affairs. If negro is too good"
and lets everybody find it out, he is go
Ing to find himself up against the grand
old hfe-sayer-the color line.
There is always a fine tailor-made ex-
ruse for sidestepping a tough black man.
Very possibly Hams grandson discovered
lhe color line and the black men have
been starving behind it ever since. All
the colored fighters fear the drawing of !
the line; some of Them are worldly wise |
enough TO "pulf' to an opponent now and |
then in order to keep the sucker crop |
coming.
Peter Jackson found that Sullivan |
drew the color line and every really good |
negro fighter has found a certain per-
centage of his white brethren on the |
other side of that handy excuse. Every
few years a terrific howl about the color
line goes up from one weight division or
another, but you never heard bunch of
fighters set up that color line oratorio
unless there wes concealed in their par
ucular wood pile a black man who could
fay them all alive.
You never knew a fighter to howl
about the color line unless he was being
Systematically prodded into match with
q negro whom he had a mighty good
reason TO fear. Does any one remember
what a grand talk Jimmy Britt used to
make about his hot southern blood? And 4,
how soon his hot southern blood cooled
when II was ascertained that Joe Cans
was amenable to reason?
II is the white goose who lays the
golden egg fer the black fighter Two
black men, no matter how good they
may be, will never prove a strong draw
Ing card. A black man, in order to get
money out OF the game must fight white
men, and If he handles the first crop too
roughly he may find the rest of it
blignted.
Jack johnson has been rather. economi- S
sal with his white opponents in the past J
JI course since he has been a champion, ]
le hasn't been under the necessity of ]
saving" anybody, for there are always /
men who are willing TO take a crack
I .aEx title holder because of the gam
OIdlg chance for 3 lot of money ii thew i
win But when Jack was not a champion J
but meek and lowly liver-and- onion
gourmand, travelling from here to there
IN a tourist car, there were times when ]
he showed mercy-that is, it was either ]
mercy or streak and you can take your
pick.
Joseph Cans vas another black fighter
who let many white man hear the bell
hat sounded the end of fight. Some
lines he allowed them to linger' because IL
Al Herford had let the Cans end that
he white man would be there at the
inlsh, and there were other reasons
quite as potent. If Joe had gone at every
white man at top speed it would not have
1een many moons before he would have
been talking off his little brown hat to ,
he president of the Down and Out club. I
Then Joe reformed. He also confessed
-"Ruefed" they called It on the coast. \
believe in that reformation because 1 !
vas present when several fighting men \
raed to bump Joe out Of the straight and
harrow path.
They offered him all the money in the
louse not to knock out Mike CTwin) Sui
ivan the night Mike and Joe fought in
he ball park in Los Angeles.
Gentlemen said Joe, "I been in Il
Dutch a long time. Looks like I've heen 7
einstated in public faveh I 'nounce d
myself now, I'm goin' to FIGHT" t
And he did. The punch that dropped Y
Twin" hit him behind the ear, which h
a sufficient guarantee that there was II
omething behind it. a