Evening star., 1915-03-22
By T. S. ANDREWS.

Special Correspondence of The Star.
MILWAUKEE,. Wis. March EFT is
about time for the promoters of box
ing in this country to get together
and put a stop to the exorbitant de-
mands of so-called stars and cham
pions and bring them down to earth
where they belong. It is the public
that pays for these fancy prices. When
the promoters stand for the "hold-up"
of big guarantees and percentages they
are forced to charge a higher price Of
admission and naturally the boxing
fans who support the game are tho
ones who have to cough up" There
are times when the public will stand
for really high-class attraction and
pay as high as SO a seat for the choice
ones. but 1t does object to being held
up for ordinary shows where near
champions and sometimes second rat
ers are staged
The boxers show no more considera-
tion for the men who promote the
game nor the people who support 1t
than cat for mouse. All they can
see Is the mighty dollar, and in their
mad anxiety to grab all in sight they
90 much damage to the sport for the
future The grab-all policy of some
o1 me champions and champions
OF the past set precedent that has
done a great deal of harm to the game.
The trouble is that many of the boxers
are loaded down with managers who
have no regard for the game nor for
the boxers themselves; ali they can see
Is the coin and they will go any limit
to get everything in sight
Boxers who claim to hold titles
should be compelled to defend them
ana under reasonable conditions. The
erty to shift around to suit their own
convenience; 1t Is a mark of s,lperior-
lty IN the boxing game and stamps
the holder IS a man at the head Of his
class In that particular line. The hold
er should not be afraid to defend his
title at any time; he should feel SUI
per1or to the other man and be willing
TO take chance the same as did the
man from whom he won the cham
pionship. If not, it might be well to
estab bllsh titles and sell them to the
highest bidders every four or six
months and then they would be bound
to change hands. Some of the cham
p1ons of today are jokes compared with
the men who held titles years ago.
It Is not sport any more; it is all
men cannot fight. for they can, but
they are SO taken up with the finan-
cial end that they entirely lose sight
of their obligations to the public as
SpOrlSmen.
Little JoA Thomas of Chicago. mana
ger and handler of many boxers. con-
slders himself one Of the most unlucky
of mortals. Joe has had some good
boys under his care. but after develop
ing them. they would disappear, and
Joe would watch some one else get the
benefit of his work. couple of weeks
ago Joe became wise to the fact that
II he could pick up a boy who could
defeat Johnny Ertle, the ST. Louis ban
tamweight. in a limited round bout, he
could gather In bunch of kale ErtIe
had beaten all the boys around Chicago
and Milwaukee. and was considered a
world-beater at his weight Joe did
not think so, figuring to himself that
Ertle had not bumped into the real
class. so he began to cast about, and
finally landed young bantam in the
east who looked very good indeed; in
fact, so good that the man who handled
him said he would not want a penny
of the winnings If his boy did not whip
Ertle good Joe set to work and issued
challenge to Ertle. offering to put up
side bet from 800 to 81 200. and leave
the verdict to any four newspapers In
addition. he got a club to offer a purse
Of $500 for the match. 1t looked good
for Joe, as Ertle and his manager were
announcement to Joe that the boy he
had in view had been matched for just
an easy bout in the east before start
ing west Joe supposed it would be a
nice workout for the youngster and he
did not worry. The next morning Joe
picked up the papers, and hidden away
in one of the sporting pages was the
brief announcement that Young So
and-So had been knocked out by sec
one-rate prelim. boy. 1t was shock
to Joe's nerves. but he survived, and
now he is looking for another cham
pion.
Cleveland has been turning out some
high class boxers of late. among them
Champion Johnny kilbane. Phil Brock
Matt Block, Cal Delaney and Artie
Root Johnny Griffiths might be classed
as a home boy. too. although he really
belongs to Akron. Ohio. Cal Delaney
looked like a real featherweight rival
to Kilbane for q time. but he fell back.
and a week or more ago he bumped
into the Baltimore ker-out-George
Chaney-whom all the feathers seems
anxious to avoid. Cal fell just little
short of the CLANCY speed. but 1T that