The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-08-27
JOHNSON BUILDS
COLOR BARRIER
Novel Idea of Keeping Away
From Some of the
Big Fighters.
TELLS
Jacks World of Training
Places Him Where He
Needn't Worry Much.
EXPERIENCE L

curiosity of p~reSent-flay pugilism.
Jack johnson. holder of the title.
steadily declines to meet either sam
Lansford or Joe Jeannette.
mere are many clubs that would
"iief liberal purses to see the ,ham-
l'i"n Is up With either Jeannette
or Langford. Clubs in London. Paris
and even in %far-off Australia have
made propositions of sums ANYWHERE,
nom 100000 up. but johnson saws no.
In the United States there are pro-
meters who would stage a contest he
Tween the Texas giant and the BOSTON
Tar Baby. hut the of Jim
Jtffrles steadily closes his ears TO the
"f1elrs and looks around for a chance
To- knock out white duhs.
After the a Jack rompcd through
Jim flNnn in their july 4 ~tisasco. saws
tte North American. it il NOT likely
mat any other promoter will fall for
inc hunk OF pittins any of the alleged
" mite hopes against the duskv pre-
mler. for the white race has no par
noular satisfaction in seeing one of its
members made to look absurd hv one
OF the color that il tool amendments
- the United States constitution and a
costly war to lift from serfdom.
Moreover. from a strictly sporting
standpoint, such contests are the big
gest farces in the world. for none of
the white hopes are able to give even
q good warm-up 10 little Arthur.
Experience Makes Boxer.
There is a reason for this.
1t takes time to make a champion.
The man who would succeed in the
rlnS ana mount to attitudes must
learn by experience. He must fight all
kinds Of men. He must learn all
STYLES. He must have his stamina
proved by actual eXertions in the ring;
ne must master Judgment of distance
and effective landing by constantly pit
ting his skill against good men and
learning how To hit the target.
Take the record of almost any real
topnotcher, and it will be found that
he has been in hundreds of contests.
Generally speaking. the exceptions
TO this rule. the men who speedily at
tain championship honors. are the
ones Wh" find their proprietorship of
the title short-lived Real champions
like Jeffrics, sullivan, Dixon. Lavisnc.
fltzsimmons. Dempsey. Ryan, etc
We're constantly in the ring and learn
cd by experience every detail of the art
OF thWartins an opponent.
Ih. reverse is the truth today.
The huge bulk of a young huskv at
tracts the attention OF II promo
ter anxious for a meal ticket. 1mme-
diately a new white hope is proclaim
ed. Newspapers are solicited 10 print
the photographs of the new cham
rlol h is going to take the meas
ure OF Jack johnson. He is inter
viewed. his dimensions are printed and
iii a short space of time more puhlici-
" is granted To him than came TO
John L. sullivan in a decade of his
notable career
Then the white hope" is matched
against some NTH ra1er. If he dis
poses of this duh, Their he has conolu-
slvely established his class and there
is nothing tn do but go right ahead
and set the match With johnson.
Some of these hopes may have had
some capacity and failed because Of
rapid forcing. One hundred prelim-
mary bouts of from six To twenty
rounds duration, gradually Improving
the Caliber IF the men taken on would
be a pretty good way TO get a man in
something like the condition of knowl-
edge he should he before beginning TO
aspire to a place with the topnotchers.
Needn't Worry.
There is no white man TODAY who
has had this kind of training. hence IL
will he some time before lack John
son need fear a passing Of the title
back TO the Caucasians.
lbl sittiN IL a ti1Nh mar NIlp Has
a pair of them in fact. thougi. the
far outclasses the second. 1t
vould be unfair to johnson to say that
he fears either OF these men. Lang
ford or Jeanette but it is a fac, that
forfelts the big financial returns
that would accrue from d meeting
with either of them.
1t is significant that whenever q;
tighter drew the color line there was
:, l,,., ,e ~, ~-l .,,),el L. -, --,.
ing around TO get a chance at the hold
or of the title.
When John L. Sullivan barred
negroes, Peter Jackson Was in the hey
day OF his glory. and when Jeffries
later took his position against black
ne in the ring. Jack Johnson had be-
come famous.
h prejudice against negroes as op-
ponents for white men is not limited
the south. in fact, all over the
country there is a general feeling of
the intimacy of the prize ring partic-
ularly when the negro win
But there is no objection to seeing
a negro fight with a negro. particularly
il happens that the two men are
admittedly the best in their class.
Johnson and Langford undoubtedly
any heaNNweights in the
world today. Jeanette is good. but he
does not measure up TO the other pair.
Were Langford out of the way. John
would probably not hesitate to
give a match to Jeanette. But ii he
met Jeanette, Langford would have a
claim.
Johnson frankly admits his drawing
Of the color line.
Il do not think he says. that a
match between colored men would
draw enough to pay"
A hole is put in this argument by
the fact that many offers have been
made for such a contest, particularly
abroad, where there is little race
Met Once in the Past.
The probabilities are that johnson.
fearing Langford. knows that
Boston Tar Baby would probably
give him more trouble than anybody
did. Langford is a terrific hitter.
is he proved when in his tifteen-round
,out with johnson at Chelsea. Mass,
he knocked the Texan down and al
most out.
Langford always claimed that it was
'nly a crooked count that saved John
or from the knockout journey. In
closing rounds johnson rallied and
the decision.
Langford claims that he is built to
'eat johnson. He is short and thick |
ard would have an admirable OPP
,ortunity to hammer Johnson's body |
whenever they came together in