The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-01-09

1 stepped into the ring But in those days
 Jeff was in an uncommunicative mood, | refusing to make friends, refusing to have anything to do with newspaper men
 and ignoring most of his sparring part ners. So it was rather difficult job to draw him out.
 | As the day neared for the fight Jeff succeeded in taking off weight, not so much through the medium of exercise, but more because of worry. He replaced some of the flabby muscles with those which were strong and pliant, but in the main Jim Jeffries was in poor | physical condition on the day that he stepped into the ring to face the per- fectly conditioned negro.
 l have stated previously and l reiter- ate it now that there wasn't heavy weight in the country who could not have whipped Jim Jeffries the day that Jack Johnson beat him. I don't say this with the idea of belittling Johnson'S triumph. The statement is one based on facts Jeffries was so completely strick : en by nerves" that he was like man in a daze. Further than that, he did not sleep for three nights previous to the battle and had ate but little.
 The next morning all the reporters sent out stories about sJeffries having had "a very refreshing sleep" The real truth is that Jim Jeffries never slept W1Ilh LHe HlSHl D6IOTe the DaLLl6. He rolled around and tossed in bed for hours and along about 4 got up and sat by an open window, looking out into the sky. He remained in such a position for an hour or so, and then nervously paced the floor of his room until long after dawn. tt
 Then followed a light breakfast, after which Jeffries tried his mightiest to con trol his scattered nerves. But to no avail
 Every man who saw the fight knows the story only too we'll. Jeffres walked to the center of the ring like a drunken man. Johnson hit him when and where he willed. Jeff made numerous feeble ef- forts to land punches, but he couldn't do it. Even if they did land they wouldn't have broken an egg. Time and again he tried to ward off the Johnson attacks, but to no avail Round after round went by with the ringside crowd hoping against hope that Jeffries would rally; that he would come out of his state of semi-coma. But all in vain.
 Johnson, as everyone remembers fought a cool-headed battle. The negro remem- bered Jeffries in his prime. He expected to meet rushing, rugged fighter. When Jeffres' attitude was entirely opposite to what Johnson expected the negro fig ured at first that it was some sort of 8 trick. So he was very careful and very cautious during the early rounds But as the fight went on Johnson came to know that Jeffries was not the Jeff fries of old, and was absolutely harmless So the negro mapped out methodical plan of battle and gradually beat down Jeffries until the fifteenth round came.
 Johnson opened with a furious attack and after driving Jeff around the ring slammed him against the ropes. The men
 in Jeff's corner knew that the end was near. So, rather than have Jeffres suf- fer the humiliation of a knockout, they tossed in the sponge-and the "hope of the white race" was gone.
 A few years ago saw Jeffries in Los Angeles and the talk drifted back to the fight. I said to Jim:
 Did you say you were drugged before that fight?'
 "Of course not" answered Jim < Well, why did you let the papers say it?"
 "Well, I didn't tell them to say it.' answered Jeff. 'I didn't know anything about the story until. saw it in print Then l told the newspaper boys that it wasn't so; that it was a fake pure and simple. But of course. the story had gotten around and the fellows hated to print a retraction Of their original statements and so I just let it go at that"