New-York tribune., 1921-06-12
Broun Upllolds
Secrecy Plan
OF Carpenter
Challenger Needs Strategy
10 Have Any Show al All
With the CHI a m p ION
BY Haywood Bronn

BY Haywood Broun
The sharp newspaper criticism which
was once directed at Jack Dempsey has
now shifted almost entirely against
Carpenter. This is something less
than fair Carpenter deserves better
than that, il for no other reason than
the fact that he is visitor. Dempsey,
as you may remember. was assailed be-
cause he was not 100 per cent Amer
lean. Realization has now come that
neither is Carpenter.
Most curious Of all the criticisms
directed against him is the complaint
that he has refused to charge admission
at his training camp and is thereby
passing up an opportunity TO make
some fifteen or twenty thousand dollars
before the fight. Decidedly this seem )
un-American. Yet there is little logic
sky fight the Frenchman was roundly
abused as foreigner who had come to
this country for the despicable purpose
of making money. 1t was said at tha
time that he had no chance with any
of the good second raters. The cry
was raised that he ought to meet Le-
whisky, the light heavyweight cham
pion, and prove his right to match
with Dempsey. Accordingly, Carpen-
| tiSi uiu HGHt ASSiHShS anu hHoStSu
him out, whereupon the American
sporting writers took back everything
| they had said before and declared that
Levinsky was no fit opponent and that
Carpenter ought to be ashamed of
himself. It was said that it was dis
graceful for the Frenchman to have
picked man so far iferior to hims self.
The complaint to-day is that Carpen
tier has snned by presuming to tackle
. n ,,o,,rh haitian hor h in, co1f la
fact, so petulant is the New York press
in general that one writer condemned
Deschamps, the French fighters man
ager, in the severest terms for wearing
red carpet slippers and carrying palm
leaf fan.
Cause for Irritation Exists
1t would be unfair to suggest that
there has been no cause whatever for
this irritation on the part of American
sport writer's. Carpenter has always
been accustomed to train in private.
He has followed this system in getting
ready for all his big fights and he
pressure exerted by Rickard. The fight
prom oter was of the opinion that abso-
lutte secrecy on the part of the French
man would deaden interest in the fgkA'
Mr.. Rickard is a successful interpreter
of popular psychology, but it would
seem as if he were in error this time.
] The more mystery about Carpenter
the greater is the interest in the big
bout likely to be. At any rate the
compromise scheme of allowing news
paper visitors twice a week has not
worked we'll. Deschamps has been part
ly responsible for this failure. To be
sure he has been handicapped by know
ing neither the language nor the writ
ers, but certainly his attitude from the
beginning has been far from cordial.
SO badly have the arrangements
been handled that the visiting crowd
has usually been composed of little
body of newspaper men entirely sur
rounded by actors, motion picture peo-
pie and villagers. Anything done by
any member Of this crowd which was
in any way Objectionable has promptly
been blamed on the newspaper men.
Instead of doing his wedding out at
the gate, Dschamps has attempted upon
enc or two occasions to separate the
had been admitted. At any rate, just
before one workout he suddenly
turned on SO grizzled a newspaper vet
Gran as William Slavens McNutt,
singing him out from all the rest, to
irauire: care you newspaper man."
Fortunately Mr.. McNutt was for many
months b correspondent with the
AHeIican army IN france, ana, KNOW
ing French, he was able to make ade-
quate and tactful reply to the query
OF Deschamps. He said "oui."
Carpenter Will Not Win
For the rest, it seems to me that
Carpenter has done about all that
could be expected of him at these pub
lie workouts. 1t would be just as
reasonable to object to the secret prac-
tice of the Yale and Harvard football
teams as to complain because Carpen-
ter does not do his best work in pub
lie. Unlike Dempsey: he must depend
ON surprises in the bout. Dempsey,
rnand, can afford to train in the open,
but Carpenter will win on strategem
or not at all. Naturally his public
workouts are somewhat perfunctory.
He does not seem particularly impress
sive on these workouts, but even so
there is nc justification whatever for
the sporting writers, who have seized
upon these practice bouts. to declare
that Carpenter is disgracefully poor
performer, hardly in class with Bill
Squires. Indeed, one writer made the
direful threat that if Carpenter did
rot do better he would refuse to watch
him any longer. For my part, l do not
think Carpenter will win. I believe
Dempsey may knock him out in round
or two, although it is likely to be
lively while it lasts
Carpenter cannot be denied chance,
for little luck might do much for a
man with such a punch. But win or
lose, IN one round or the limit. there
need be no question that Carpenter,
gallant ring figure, is doing his best
to make the fight Of his life on July 2.
In that effort he deserves from the
newspapers justice. at any rate, and
we will all be better sportsmen If we
try to give something little warmer
than that.
Yale Picks Swim Team