The sun., 1919-07-05
BROADWAY TAKES
LANGUID INTEREST
Weather Too Hot, and Besides
Neither Fighter Has Fol-
lowing Here.
TICKER CROWDS SMALL
Betting Extremely Light, With
Women Chiefly Putting
Faith in Willard.
TICKER CROWDS SMALL

FalCn IN WILLARD.
The bout in Toledo did not stir New
York from the dangerous process OF
existing through a sultry holiday after
noon. The affair on Maumee Bay from
the time Of It's arrangement did not ap-
peal to the Imagination OF the town after
the fashion Of past championship events,
and while there was a general interest
N II there was no keen partisanship.
The east side of Broadway. where the
sun burned the sidewalk. was as bare of
pedestrians throughout the afternoon as
country lane. Along the west side
walk trickled a thin stream of those who
had some excuse or another for not
being in the country or at the beaches.
The only large crowd on Broadway
was between Thirty-fifth and Thirty
sixth streets within seeing distance OF
the bulletin board Of Greeley Squares
evening newspaper. At $3.50 o'clock
when the fight was scheduled to begin,
this crowd blocked Broadway, except
| where n couple of policemen kept a lane
| open for the surface cars.
| 1t was a Broadway crowd exhibiting
Broadway hot and tired, Broadway pros
porous or with the appearance Of pros
| perity. Broadway seedy and down at the
| heel, Broadway black and white, Broad
way clean and dirty. but Broadway wise
in the lore of prize fighting and Broad
way talkative. The travelled man was
there to tell his world that he had been
at all the big fights preceding the pres.
ent one for the last fifteen years. Be
side him was the man who had bel
$500 against 81, 400 that the fight would
not go more than three rounds. There
vas sprinkling of army and navy uni
forms. On the fringes were a good
| many women.
Personal Interest Lacking.
There appeared TO be little personal
interest in the principals at the Toledo
mill. Where the names were mentioned
! II was Dempsey. who was favored. The
hulking Willard never was popular II
| New York and Dempsey is too new ir
the game TO have acquired a consider
able following
l The crowd in front of the bulletlr
4
! came that Dempsey had won the crow6
dissipated quietly.
Small groups remained 10 hold posi-
mortem discussions that were not com.
plicated by any knowledge of the details
or the tight 1t was the general convic.
ton that the defeated champion wa.
yellow and n gutter.
In the big hotels and In the clubs nc
sign OF interest in the fight was mani.
Tested except for the assembling O.
small groups around the tickers. Saloon.
from Spuyten Duyvil to East New Yorl
were empty or nearly So Theatres that
had advertised the giving OF hght re-
turns held mere handfuls as audiences
| Those persons who were in town re.
NAMED behind the doors of their domi.
! Giles precisely as they would have done
under the conditions had there been nc
I fight.
| On Broadway. where any eTent that
presents an opportunity TO win easy
/ money arouses a dominating interest fol-
! the time being. the apathy toward the
! Willard-Dempsey match was explained
as due to the personality OF the prin.
cipals and the fact that the bout was
limited to twelve rounds.
hut Little Betting Done.
There was but little betting. William
4. Brady. formerly manager Of Corbett
! and Jefrries, had $4,000 to wager or
Dempsey but placed very little OF II he.
fore he left for Toledo. Betting here
was held at even money before the fight
with no Willard takers. In the proceed.
! ing week the odds fiuctuated between IL
| TO 8 and to 8, with Willard the ia.
| vorite
Sam Turner and Dude Harris, pro
motors of special party 10 the night
found the venture Improbable. They
interested only seventy-fve fight fan,
in the excursion and stood to lose 1880
when the party left in three cars at,
/ tached to a New York Central train or
Thursday night Harris was one OF ths
few from Broadway to think Willard q
winner and bet 81 500 on the champion
| The trend of the betting was laid Il
the newspaper dispatches from thu
training camps. most of which treated
Dempsey's chances encouragingly. The
theatrical district noted with Interest
that most women betters favored VII
| lard. No explanation was obtainable fol-
this. Groups OF girls OF the Winter
Garden and Follies contributed to. pools
that reached considerable totals anC
were wagered on Willard.
| The interest In the fight that wa!
general but which lacked intensity show
ed itself when evening newspapers ap
peared on the streets with the details o.
the fight by rounds. These were pur
chased eagerly. The populace iured BY
the promise OF relief that comes with
shutdown had come out OF their homer
and along all OF the main highway.
during the evening were men with theil
eyes fastened on special fight editions
Because OF the holiday with the re
| striction OF newspaper output. there wa,
a heavy pressure on telephone facilities
from news seekers. The telegraph com
panies also reported congestion o. bust
ness due TO messages relating to tn,
night
spanish Minister Resigns.
MADRID. July 4.-The Minister of Jus
tice has resigned. The course the dis
cussion concerning the electoral polio,
OF the Government Is taking is said I,
be the reason for his action,