Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-01
Takes Defeat to Heart.


.Jeffries Of today is far from being the
man he was before his bright star was
clouded by Johnson's smoke. The hope
Of the white race has taken to heart his
defeat. and especially that it was by a
colored man.
jeff never would have taken seriously
a defeat by a white man but as Sam
Berger stated to the writer the other
day, it will be months and perhaps years
before jeff will forget the humiliation of
the defeat by the colored man.
Physically, jeff is not as strong and
heavy as he was before he started to
train for the Reno fight. Today he
weighs in the neighborhood of $40
pounds. while a year ago the :U-pound
mark was his limit.
1t VIII only be a matter of time before
he returns to his former self Mentally
lie hasn't suffered, as the famous pugilist
never was accused of having a Rookie
Teller. Morgan or Hartman head on him,
but 1t is a safe bet that he possesses
to hang on to the enormous bank roll
he accumulated during the past year
Berger Made Good.
had a recent interview with Sam Ber-
ger, famous as Jeffries' manager, an en-
terprising young business man of San
Francisco. and perhaps, 1 may say, a
manager who, in the short space of time
he handled the financial reins of Jeffries'
band wagon. made more for his star than
any other manager in the game Berger
turned over to Jeffries. from the day he
took charge of the ex-champions bust
ness interests, both in the theatrical and
nghtlng lines. which extended over a pc
ROD of little over a year, the tidy sum
Of $23O.Oo0. This is the wad that the
loser of the great fiasco at Reno re-
celVed from the time he walked on to
the stage at the Wigwam Theater in
San Francisco until he took the count at
Reno-a sum which. we all must concede.
Is far more than the ordinary man can
ever expect to accumulate during the
course of lifetime
In addition to this fortune Jeff was re-
puted as being worth in the neighborhood
or close on to a hundred thousand dol
lars. This included half interest in
cafe and saloon in Los Angeles, valued at
S6o,Voo; ranch worth $4,000 and a
house worth $4,000. So in case this be
bona fide statement which sam Ber-
ger gives me. it can readily be seen that
jeff was not forced into fight with
Johnson on account of his financial stand
ing, but it was public sentiment, and the
same public sentiment which has driven
him, and which will keep him in Sc
cluSiOn for several months to come
Never Sought Limelight.
jeff never was a seeker Of notoriety
and SO isn't losing any sleep over the
fact that he isn't i'll the Iimelight Ber-
ger stated that he thought that in time
the people would see their mistake IN
condemning JEFF for his poor showing
and would praise him for having the
courage to step into the ring with a man
of Johnson's caliber after being in retire
ment for over six wears
Berger also stated that he KEW all
along that Jeffries not pursuing the
proper course of training, but as he was
very hard to handle and couldn't be die
tated to, the only thing was to let him
work along his own lines. Sam says
jeff trained if he were fitting himself
for marathon race instead of a Cruel
ing fight Instead of boxing twenty
rounds day. as he urged jeff to do, the
latter would get Farmer Burns and run
vitality that was lacking the day of the
big fight.
Wouldn't Take Advice.
Berger claims all these things were
plain to the majority Of the trainers at
the camp, but Jeff was too stubborn to
listen to advice. In the face of this the
chiefs of the camp figured that if he was
80 per cent as good as the day he put
the crusher on Jack Munroe he could
beat Johnson. who up to that time had
never shown any great skill or ability.
jeff is a lover of nature and never
misses an opportunity to go out in the
woods fish in the mountain streams.
He can tell YOU the names and habits OF
the different animals that haunt the
forests and can name every fish in the
OF the Pacific slope. Hunting
these various creatures, along with au-
tOmobiling, will be his chief occupation
for the near future.
Last week Barney Oldfeld participated
in the automobile races held in Los An
geles. Barney and jeff are old friends.
and during his trials before setting out
for a worlds record, Barney took JEFF
in the machine with him and they tore
off several miles with an average of less
than a minute each. All the while jeff
wore a broad smile. and it was figured
out that Barney was relating to JEFF the
facts of his (Oldfeld's) recent auto race
with johnson. How Oldfeld showed up
Johnson is a joke and it is this that
makes jeff smile, for he has the satisfac-
ton of knowing that friend Of his has
got a decision over his conqueror.
With Jeffries feeling fine. looking We'll