The Alaska daily empire., 1918-04-26
1ohnL.asMnepHm MJanles J.CbrbeH
Copyright 1918, by King Features Syndicate, Incl


 Through the years that John L was champion, and for more than a dozen afterward, he continued to imbibe freely of alcoholic liquors. He boasted frequently that he could outdrink any man in America-and he won several such championship contests. Time and again friends tried to prevail upon him to be more temperate in his habits. But John l.. always scoffed them into silence
 Many men addicted to the liquor habit resolve at one time or another to ouit. Some of them do follow out their resolves by getting on the wagon" for a short period of time But all through the years of John L.'s pugilistic days he never once made serious determination to quit He often said that he liked alcohol too we'll And so, everyone figured that John L. would continue to be drinker until the end of his days.
 But on March ,, 1905 the ''impos sible" happened-John L. made up his mind to quit drinking, to quit right then and there and from then on until the day of his death a drop of liquor never again touched his lips. His reformation, in view Of his incorporate habits for more than a quarter of a century, makes it something akin to a miracle.
 John L.. telling about the incident later said:
 "I was playing with show in 1905 and when we got into Grand Rapids I was blind drunk. I loved champagne and I certainly had been drinking more than my share. We stayed a whole week in Grand Rap ids and I appeared at each and ev cry performance and went through with my work but I didn't know any thing about it. I cant remember an incident of that weeks happenings in Grand Rapids.
 After we finished showing in Grand Rapids, we went to Terre Haute, Indiana. I got to that town all right but I certainly didn't know how got there. We got into town about noon on Sunday, March } 1905. We played matinee and alsc a night performance. After the show that night Frank Hall, who was my manager, and I went back to the ho tel. When we got into the hotel my brain had cleared little bit because I hadn't had a drink for an hour or so. I could think a little straighter than usual but l was still very drunk.
 Hall invited me to have drink with him before hitting the hay and I accepted We ordered a quart of champagne and the bellboy brought it to my room. The kid opened the bottle and then went out. l poured out drink for Frank and one for myself Both glasses were brimming full That liquor looked wonderfully good to me because l certainly was thirsty. I grabbed the glass in my hand, picked it up and was going to down the liquor when something seemed to stop my hand l pushed the glass back little bit, and looked at it. I held it there looking at it steadily all the time. Hall, mean while had drunk his champagne and was staring at me in a queer sort of way.
 "What's the matter. John?" asks Frank
 q looked at the glass again and then put it down~and said to Frank:
 Frank, so help me God, I won't drink this and so help me God, I'll never take a drink again.
 Hall, knowing Sullivan intimately, laughed at the idea of John L. re- forming He didn't take the resolu- tion of Sullivan seriously. He felt that when John l.. refused to drink that night that it was merely be- cause the stomach of the champion of champions" was upset and figured that Sullivan would resume drinking the next day But the next day John l.. didn't take a drink.
 Those in the threatrical troupe were surprised and even stunned. Eventually the newspapers got hold of the fact that John l.. had gone more than 24 hours without drink and that John l.. had resolved to quit forever The news was pub lished with sarcastic editorial com ment No one took John LIS refor- nation seriously. How could they? For nearly twenty-five years he had been, to use his own style, the worlds champion thinker" and no one reckoned that John L. would re- form at so late a day.
 But another "A hours passed and l.