Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-01-19
TEX STILL HERE
WITH HIS DREAMS
Says He Will Put on the JeffrieS-
Johnson Fight at
SaItair.
SPORTS NOW MUCH IN DOUBT
In the Face or Public Sentiment, the
Law and the Governors Firm Stand.
Dream Cannot be True.

Notwithstanding the opposition that
| has been manifested I'm regard TO
bringing Off the Jeffries-J johnson prizs
fight in Salt Lake. the promoters from
Tex RIckard all the way down the line.
even including ]. e. Langford. man
ager OF the Saltnir route. maintain
their stand that tho big contest Will be
presented at the bicycle track at Soltalr
beach This morning a high priced
photographer journeycd to the place
beside the lake for the purpose of OBJ
taInIne views which are Intended to
boost the contest
Tex Rickard preserves his equanimi.y
and his stand In the face of all sorts
of antagonlsm. He sots his jaws. the
flrc-lght comes Into his eyes, and he
asScvcFatcs that the fight belongs to
him, no matter what the San Fran-
cisco people say. and that he will pull
of the event in Salt Lake In spite OK
anything that may come up. Tex is
not talking much these days. but he Is
doing lot of working with the wires
and otherwise. To a friend he remark
cd that II certain matchmakers who
think they own the pugillstic world
get too obstreperous he will pull off
the contest out on some sandhill II
there are not 10 people present. And
according to the contract, both Jcfries
and johnson must come through or for
felt $4,000 each.
There has been an influx of the pro-
fessIon to the city within the last few
days and tonight. when an exhibition
takes place at Murray, there promises
to be a bunch of ring notablcs on hand.
Peculiar as It may seem, there is
feeling markedly prevalent that Rick
ard is going to be able to stage his big
contest in OF about Salt Lake.
THE GOVERNOR SAYS NO.
And In the face of the Nevada gam
bIer's assertions stand the statutes OF
Utah, statutes which say that con-
test of this kind shall not be. Back
ing them up to the letter stands tho
governor of the state with the supreme
executive authority of the state vested
in him He says the fight will not take
place here Those who know the gov
ernor well will not hesitate to say that
he probably knows more about tho
matter than does the Nevada fight pro-
moter. In the face of the governors
assertion, there seems to BIO little
ground for the hopes of the promoters
of the fight. 1t is generally conceded
that what tho governor says, he means.
and that when he says there Will be no
fight in Utah, there will be no fight in
Utah.
Among the sporting fraternity. which
is a very small fraction OF tho city's
there Is Il change OF opinion
noticeable today. After Tex had ac-
uuired the agency OF big type and red
ink for a newspaper broadslde TO the
effect that he and the interests he
could "pull Off the hight
here despite laws and governors and
sheriffs, the aforementioned fraternity's
hopes ran high. After The News edi-
torially condemned the undertaking In
such convincing language. doubts be-
gan to arise. and when they looked TO
the editorial page Of The Tribune and
saw reflected there an opinion that
conditions in Utah would not permit
the contest. the doubts continued to
grow and now they are very well de-
fined and where on Monday there was
quite q large number of people who
thought the fight might take place at
Saltalr In the face of the agreements
made today they have completely
changed front and now the sporting
fraternity. In common with the greater
majority of the people of Utah recog-
nlZo that when Governor SpTy says
there will be no fight here, that thero
will not. and just as surely as when
Governor Hughes made the same re-
mark with regard to his baillwick.