The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-24

The boxers are doing their bit" in this war-and very large "bit"-despite what some persons with banning" dispo- sitions have to say.
 Those who have read the Stacker" in dictments Of the boxing fraternity, re- turned by unfair critics, have come to think that practically every boxer of im- portance in the country has "ducked' ! serving the government in one way or another. The charge is not true. 1 dare say that there is about as big a represen- as is drawn from any other athletic branch in the country. Lists before me show that a great number of the top- nctchers in the boxing world have given themselves to the service.
 One of the pet methods used by folks who are accusing the boxers of lack of patriotism is to point out that some of the stars are dodging active service by serving as boxing instructors in the and navy when they should be in the trenches. It seems to me, as a mem- Der of the war department committee that in teaching boxing to the soldiers that those men are performing a splen- did solvice. And the war department shows that it feels those men are of greater value now in their positions as instructors than they would be on the battlefields of France
 Benny Leonard, Mike Gibbons, Johnny kilbane, PacSey Mcfarland, Battling Levinsky and all the others who are serving as moxing instructors in the army and navy are especial targets for the mud singers. The hammer boys" insist that those boxers should be in the trenches, instead of the army camps teaching boxing. But the war depart meat officials insist upon keeping those boys right where they are Why? Be- cause it knows full we'll the great value Of Leonard, Kiltane, Gibbons and the others as army instructors; knows that right new they can do a greater service as instructors than as units in the battle line.
 In hand-to-hand fighting, which so frequently takes places in "No Mans Land" the necessity for complete knowl- edge in the use of a bayonet is q life and death necessity. Movements in boxing are quite similar to those used in bay onet work. The army officials, knowing this, realized that if soldier could ac- qulre fair knowledge of boxing, it would serve him splendidly in the use of a eayonet. So a committe was formed for the purpose of selecting men to teach boxing to the soldiers. The honor of the championship of that committee was conferred upon me-
 The experiment of teaching boxing to soldiers has shown all the members of the committee that it takes only half the time to teach the correct use of bay edge, that it does to one who is not familiar with the science of ring work. There in lies one of the many values of our army boxing instructor.
 Each boxer appointed as an army in- structor has performed his task in conscientious fashion. Those boys gladly have gone into the work and sacrificed the big income they would have received if they had remained in active ring har- ness and gone ahead with their business Of fighting for purses.
 For the benefit of those who insist that boxers are not "doing their bit" and that practically all have carefully avoided engaging in any army work, am submitting here a partial list of names of some of the high class boxers who are serving the government both preparing to serve in the trenches:
 Army Instructors: Benny Leonard Johnny Kilbane, Packey Mcfarland,