The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-01-11
BOXING NEEDED
IN ARMY SAYS
FRANK MORAN

new 4Ork, Jan. 11-trank moran,
looking as sleek as a cavalry officer in
his Training Camp Activities uniform,
raced into town last night, first to
gather up his training traps; second,
to buy a new set of punching bags,
and last and most important, to take
eucalyptus baths in an effort to break
up cold that had him talking hardly
louder than a whisper. Despite his
cold Moran looked remarkably fit,
and he declared he is.
II hated to leave my boys" he
said with grin, land I'll be back as
soon as I hustle my stuff together.
First of all I'm going to try to induce
Barley Madden to come down there
to help me train for my little affair
with Fred Fulton, which will take
place in New Orleans on the night
of Feb. %. I'll do my work right
there before and after my class time,
so that the boys will get the full bene-
fit of seeing how a man goes about
getting himself into a combatiYe
mood.
That's it! A combative mood!
You know I went to see Gen. Organ
and I'm for him all I've got.
| Moran, you're the man we want
around here he said when 1 came
! into his quarters to talk things over.
He jumped up to greet me with the
! finest sort of enthusiasm. And after
we shook he put up his hands and
squared off to me-yes, he did; the
general squared off to me as neat as
you please and fairly roared. Moran,
boxing is a thing as essential as a
| fin gun to make a corking good SOL
| der, and by CAD, Frank, I know you'll
do it
"'We've got a. wonderful lot of fine
young fellows down here, and they're
| as true blue as any set of men who
ever counted tours, but 1 know and
you know they must lack just that
something that you're going to instill
! in them-the spirit of what personal
encounter really means. You know
what I'm driving at You've been in
the service, you've been all around
the world and you know what it is
to meet your fellow man in a per-
sonal encounter
That's what this war is, Moran
one great, big personal encounter, and
we've got to teach these young fell
lows that feeling-pep!-pepper!!-
and the confidence that a man gains
when he feels that he can handle
himself. Boxing will DO it, Moran,
and they've got to box.
eff we haven't got gloves enough,
why send them at it with their bare
fists What does a black eye mat
ter? There'H be a lot of us kill
ed over there. Boxing will do it
my boy, and you go to Them
And up went the generals hands
again." added Moran. well, by
George Godfrey, you know Gen
Organ just sent me out of his
quarters steaming. Just think of 6
fine fellow like him squaring off II
his enthusiasm! I went to them, be-
lieve Francis Charles"
1.-THE general was right. You know
many of those boys used to comforts
and in thousands of cases a meek ant
non-combative existence, hadn't the
slightest conception of what it mean
: to meet a man toe to toe and eye tt
eye in a struggle for supremacy-tC
face a burglar or a footpad for in
stance. I was simply carried ava!
with the work of feeling them gu
and seeing with my own eyes thu
daily improvement in combativenes
as the general so aptly put it.
Were getting them so now tina
everything is done with set jaws, ev
cry jab of the bayonet has real kicl
in it, and every rip up is FOLLOWED
closely by a we'll meant grunt. Yo1
know with what sweet gruntin;
viciousness a professional woodchop
per goes at a knarled oak. We'll
that's how our divisions are going t
sail into the Germans.
you know a lot of those little 10
Founders will have to go over Their
with some sort of an asset to offse
size and weight.
"Our generals spirit of combat
iveness is the KEY. And I'll tell 20,
right now that if the President of tn,
United States happened into camp
wouldn't be ashamed to trot my boy
out and go through our drill, anC
when they had one I know he'd wall
up to them and pat as many of then
on the back as he could reach.
know lot OF mothers are no
going to believe their eyes when the,
see sons coming back to them clea
eyed, ruddy and the bristles stickin.
up straight on their wrists
eve want gloves. Gee, we want {
lot of gloves. There has been a To-
of CAB about sending gloves to the
boys, but must confess that I bought
the first four sets out of my owr
money. Send US some fighting gloves