The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-01-02

l Electric timekeepers such as are used i in Australia should be introduced in the American ring. They guarantee cor
 rect counting over a fallen fighter and
 eliminate entirely the possibility of a short or long count. Lack of such de- vice has made many atrocious ring de- ' cisions passable.
 Vesting counting power in referee who is unaided by watch is folly. There are some third men, who can toll off the seconds with remarkable ac- curacy but the majority are inclined to become cratic in moments of great ex-
 citement. They are just as likely to count '10' in eight seconds as to lengthen the count into 12, 14 or IS sec onds.
 In Australia when a fighter is floored a bell rings and at once the electric timekeeper gets busy. It tolls off the seconds which are registered on a sort of clock which has four sides. This clock is suspended above the ring and 1 is in plain view of every person in the | audience. There is no short counting 1 by an electric timekeeper; no long count | ing. The electric apparatus cannot make l an error nor can 1t cheat. I The American prize ring needs de- | vice just like that. Injustice is done to fighters by it's lack. It seems more than passing strange that in this progressive country, which just now is the pugilistic | mecca of the world, we should have no 1 such apparatus. Permitting referees to count off the seconds without the aid 1 of watch, when fighter is down, constitutes perhaps the greatest menace t- ftNat s.. 4l..A some enterprising fight clubs awakened to this and introduced an electric time keeper.
 Ring history chronicles many instances where honest referees have made griev- | ous errors in the county. They are but human. Errors must be expected from them. But it is wrong that so vital a
 matter as measuring time should be i'm l trusted to humans when a mechanical appliance can do it correctly. Further
 more, the lack of electric timekeepers always admits the possibility of 8 crooked deal through the medium of the referee.
 | Here is one of the many instances where q crooked deal was put over because the referee was permitted to do | the counting:
 | Some years ago in Chicago a battle
 was staged between Wiley Evans and Bob Harper, negro welterweights. The | referee was politician who had bet a
 huge sum on Harper to win. The bat | tie hadn't gone two rounds before it was evident that Harper was a joke | fighter and that Evans smashed a ter l rife right handler to Harper's jaw and | Harper went down-dead to the world The spectators took one look at the un- conscious Harper and rose to their l feet and began to don their coast, ore. paratory to leaving the arena. That naturally, caused little noise and the
 referee seized upon it as means of leLgthening the count. He had counted one" over Harper when the commotion
 in the crowd occurred. whereupon, he jumped over to the ropes and waving 1 his hands in frantic fashion, yelled: Gentlemen, you must remain perfectly quiet so as to give Harper a chance to | hear me count"
 l The referee continued to stand along | side of the ropes until he felt that the
 house had been restored to order. Then slowly he walked over to the uncon nscious ! Harper. Leaning over him he counted | tWo.' Just then some man in the au- dience coughed The referee whirled
 around, went to the ropes again, and bellowed
 Quiet! Quiet! implore you again 1 10 Keep quiet, so that this fighter can l hear me count.'' ] once again having secured silence.
 the referee walked slowly over to the
 prostrate Harper He had hoped that the
 negro would be able to get to his feet
 after such long respite. But his hopes
 were in vain. Harper still lay on the
 floor, completely out. Then the referee called three" He waited about half | minute and announced -four" At half
 minute intervals he tolled along to the
 count of "eight."
 Just as he had called off "eight," Har-