The New York herald., 1921-07-17
FRENCHMANS Mind
WAS TO win BATTLE
Carpenter Pictured in Ad-
vance as Mentally Superior
to the Dull Champion.
DEMPSEY TO BE WORRIED
Subtlety Of Challenger's Gen
ius Fails to Triumph Over
Vigor and Punch.
BY CHARLES f. MATHIsoN.


The Dempsey Carpenter fight fur
riished many amusing situations, but
none was more mirth provoking than
the frefzied efforts Of a coterie Of pen
picture experts to tell a gaping public
all about the fighters and what was
3 likely to happen when the men faced
each other in the ring. One Of these
impressionistic gentlemen, by name
Cyrus Cook. after expressing fervid
wish for Dempsey's defeat, and declar-
ing that the champion was "just a
good farmer and healthy hobo gone
wrong in. the process of becoming a
champion athlete" insisted chat the
bout would be like that between cat
and dog. Dempsey naturally was
pictured as the dog and Carpenter as
the cat, and the feline fighter was to
win. In explaining the remarkable line
Of. reasoning by which he arrived at
his conclusion Mr.. Cook said:
= I'm. Carpenter saw high type
man. master of the are of fisticuffs
a super-athlete. one possessing a
marvellous coordination of nerve
and muscle and an almost uncanny
perception of his opponents mental
processes. This uncanny power to
perceive the action of ones eppo-
nent. and to disconoert him
through ailticipatory defence and Of
fence marks the unusual man. 1t Is
the nall mark of genius. 1t is a gift.
1t cannot be acquired any more than
the springs of poetry can be in
stilled in a devotee Of the art. 1t is
something you either have or you
have not something which not all
the gods can give you. This power
plus this instinct. this mental sub
tlety is, as ] see it. feminine at its
source. 1t is as WELL feline. For
the cat family is feminine In charac-
ter just as truly as the dog family
Is masculine. Watch a cat fight a
dog. So will the great Carpenter
fight Dempsey. The cat arches her
back. nerves a-tingle. and waits Mr..
Dog out. The dog cannot endure
the suspense He strikes. often fool
ishly. without any plan, solely to re-
lieve the tension. But before the i'll
directed blow has scarcely started
on its way the cat Is on top of her
s, opponent like flash. The cat may
not seriously hurt the dog. but she
Is sure to disconcert and worry him.
Then the cat may flee, and flee In a
great panic, but that ability to stop
short and deliver an unexpected att
tack--ah. that is the forte of the
cat. ts.s,0e =, tn,s
Dempsey to Look Foolish.
Unless Dempsey socks the
,.Frenchman fearfully hard In the
early rounds and retains his self
confidence. how foolish and doglike
Dempsey will be made to look at
times. and how worried he will be;
and II worried and baffled. then In
evitably the stronger personality OF
the ,Frenchnan will overawe the less
vigorous personality of the Ameri-
can. Then the thought will enter
into Dempsey's slower moving brain
that he has no business contesting
with this strange creature who acts
and looks like. no other creature he
has ever encountered within the
ring or out of it.
This then is the main reason why
7 am SO much interested in the great
fight. 1t is the ages long fight be-
tween the masculine and feminine
and the feminine wins
'Ah. 1t Is interesting! The contrast
is so marked. Dempsey, cave man.
aborigine. offspring Of the union OF
man and subman. Carpenter.
true superman of old. born from the
union of the sons, of God with the
daughters Of men. And the higher
wins. 1t is high time. Yea, 1t is
high time"
Unfortunately for Mr.. Cooks strenu-
Gus clutchiag at the infinite, the cat did
not win. And the dog was not nervous
or upset at any time during the contest.
In fact. Dempsey was about as excit-
able as block of ice. while on the
other hand The Frenchman was plainly
on pins and needles.
Thus the estimate of the matter OF
fact boxing critics as to the relative
merits of che fighters proved accurate.
Another roted iaapressionist, Bernard
Shaw. declared Carpenter was so SUI
perior to Dempsey the odds should be
so to 1 against the American