The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-08-09
EMPTY SEATS FAIL To
FAzE JOHN |. SULLIVAN
Former Heayweaght Champion Puts
Punch Into Talk For Ringside
Crowd.
OPENS CAMPAIGN AGINsT
BOOZE AT AsBURY PARK
Water Everywherc As Speaker Enters
Auditoriuxn-N None OF Great Athletes
To-day Boozenghters, sullivan De-
csares.

Asbury Park. N J.. Aug. S.-Yours
truly. John La Sullivan. stepped
jauntily out before 3.725 vacant chairs
tonight at the Beach Auditorium
there are 1000 seats In the audi
torium and ats OF them were oc-
on the merits of total abstinence. To-
night was sort OF tryout, and IL
business picks up Mr.. Sullivan will
tour the country, reforming as he
goes.
There was water everywhere IS Mr.
Sullivan entered the auditorium. Rain
had fallen. wetting everything with
water. The Atlantic Ocean. pounding
its waves onto the beach a few feet
away Swimmers were swimming n
the boardwalk natetorium- Any place
one looked there was water.
1T was on the 5th of March. 1905"
Mr.. Sullivan began. that took my
last drink. I don't come here on any
crusade. but come to tell you TO leavs
the stuff alone. My experience has
been that when a man says, I can
leave the stuff alone he always takes
it
when I was an athlete II was my
resolution and spirit that carried all
human antagonists before me- But my
resolution and spirit were no use to
me when / went against old John
Barleycorn.
Folly Of the Booze Game.
"A rum hound is peculiar and ia
mfliar sort of human being. His COM
mon saying Is. Let's have another
one The younger generation and the
older have seen the folly OF the booze
game. Take all your athletes Of today.
your Ty Cobbs. your Christy Mathew
sons, your Honus Wagners and your
Johnny Evers. none of them are booze
lighters II they were they would not
be where they are today In the game.
II was a money-making machine,
and my success as a fighter depended
on the spirit and strength OF John
L. Sullivan was never slow to ac-
cept q challenger. But finally John
Barleycorn challenged me. and It tired
him out. Finally took tumble to
myself and quit.
Money looked to me like water on
a ducks back. The booze has more
ways OF hitting you than you have
of lodging II. I've known lot OF
'em. At the age Of fcrty they were
useless. Instead of being q young
man and living up to the ago OF eighty.
they all died at about forty Rive.
Since / have given up booze I've
devoted more attention to my wife
than ! did before I married her. I'm
more stuch on her now than was be-
fore married her. She cooks better
meals for me now than she did be-
fore married her.
III Wife Came Home Soused.
Take the boot on the other foot
! and let the wife stay out all night.
what viii happen? Suppose she came
home soused, there'd be murder"
Mr.. Sullivan here wandered OF into
tsocioioSicaf fields again.
II was rum hound with bank
roll for fair" he said. land don't
regret what. I've done. But tell You.
young men. pass 1t up The day ]
quit drinking / was blind drunk--well
not blind drunk, but had ben drink
Ing. used to love wine. not the rod
stun. but the real grape, champagne
was in Grand Rapids one week and
went into a drug store and I wa
boiled and nobody knew II. wa
hiding It from them.
''Ali that week I was boiled and
nobody knew 1t. Then went down
| to Terre Haute. do not know how ]
got there. but guess the train tool
lime there. II was Sunday afterncou
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