Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-05-20
Lifes Story Drawn From Australian Ring Champion
Interesting Narrative Related to Fair interviewer
JACK READ STARTS
BOXING SCHOOL
Educated for Law; Rushes to
Defense of Les Darcy;
Likes America.
OBy MARGARET MURPHY


Two sorts Of men come out of Aus
tralia-prize fighters and horsemen.
Also kangaroos. Jack Read is a prize
fighter, and well, | am neither a
horseman or kangaroo, but I've been
to Australia. Besides, I've met Les
tDarcy on his. home ground and tray
eled on ship with Arlos Tanning and
Art Maglrl. SO the powers that be
powerful said 1t was up to me to in
terview Jack Read and find out how
he liked America, what he thot about
Les Darcy and whether or not he
missed the Southern Cross-that IA
nous constellation which plays an en-
gagement each night on the other side
OF the equator
I'd interview the most celebrated
! English poet alive and found him
tractable I'd talked shop (for my
| papeT with the great Sir Earnest
Shackelton who is so brave and dar-
| ing that he laughs in the face of the
terrors Of Antarctica. I'd even
stalkcd the elusive Paderewsk to his
lair on a Katy siding ana extracted
from him. very much against his dis
gTuntled and tempcramcntal VIII, a
| few emacated facts to feed a hungry
! linotype.
Lcary of Prizcfightcr.
But, Whew-eel certainly was
scared about that priZefighter. You
see, | am absolutely unfamiliar with
the vernacular and what is English
! \. B G.. to him is worse than Greek to
me. | supposed that | would be eX-
pccted to convey to the sport-reading
public a fast string Of stuff about
crosses, Jabs and uppercuts-and l
knew | couldn't do it.
| imagined that | would have to
! carry my shoulders high and thrust
Z out my chin. and preface everything
! | said with LIE me tell y'u somcthin' 4"
and finish it with an aggressive See.
I thot that his "cauliflower" ear
and his busted" nose were blemishes
which polite persons ignored, like
! birthmarks and bald heads.
Surprised by Discovery.
What | found when got to Dwight
cottage, where he has taken up a
temporary abiding place amidst plum
trees and rose bushes and dOmesticat-
| ed fowls. was u young, bashful, Won
| derfully alert boy with irish blue eyes
and a quick smile, who spoke better
| English than | did with n pronounced
Australian accent. and who forget his
! shyness IN his anxiety to learn why
| the Australians had voted down con
I f''l ll'NlOllt anu lbN lllt NlNNS Ntl'
! breaking on the beaches at Manloy in
| New South Wales, and didn't ! think
the breakers were higher and faster
! there than at the famous WAIKIKI;
/ and also didn't | think Sydney harbor
was lovelier than the Golden Cate.
(And | did,
He wanted to know how the Aus
/ tralians were feeling toward Les
Darcy and was sorry when | told
| him that at the last meal I ate in
| Sydney | overheard some Australians
| gloating in the fact that Darcy had
| been turned down" by the governor
Of New York and saying that them
| Yanks were particular about some
! things"
Read Defends Darcy.
Mr.. Read gritted his white teeth
and said he couldn't understand why
| the Australians did not look upon
| Darcy's fitting as a business propo-
sition. rather than an act of coward
| ice and disloyalty.
you see" continued Mr.. Read.
! Darcy figured that if he went to
war he would lose his fighting form
! and come back Of he came back) un-
| able TO enter the ring again. If he
| had been let alone he could have
cleaned up $4,000 in this coun.ry'
enough to take care or ms hseu par .
ents for the rest of their lives, and
| then gone TO the front and served his
country equally well. But the swivel
chair patriots got on his trail with
| fountain pens and II was all up with
| Darcy.
III his erstwhile Australian admir-
ers could see him." said Darcy's SYM
| pathetic countryman, sick, wretched
an unhappy, total wreck in Mem
phis hospital. they'd be satisfied.
May Never Fight Again.
Hell probably never enter the
ring again. His present condition, in
my opinion, is purely a mental one
nervous collapse-brought on by
tho the jeers and scorn corn. OF ms, ms csSno uvo
been placed in his way in this couh-
trv Hes a wreck He never was a
| n,iitter nor a coward. He was only a
ROJrTS THIS WEEK.