New-York tribune., 1921-06-01
Neither Brute
Nor Irish Hero
Fits Dempsey
Swani> and Bravado Also
Lacking in Makeup of
Heavyweight Champion
BY Haywood Broun

| ATLANTIC CITY, May 3l--''1his is
Jack Dempsey's library" said the con-
ductor Of the little journey to the
training camp, pointing to a big case
which held couple Of hundred books.
| He explained. however, that the books
were not of Dempsev's CHOOSING but
had been LETT there by the ayiators vino
| occupied the quarters some time ago.
| But I'll tell YOU what I'll do" he
| said. Jacks taken some up into his
/ room, and we can 20 up there and see
what he's picked OUT
Sure enough, there was reading
light strung over the bed. and on a
chair near at hand lay three books and
q copy of The Picture Play Magazine.
Dempsey had selected The Boss of the
Lazy Y, by Charles Alden Seltzer; The
Night Riders, by Ridgewell Cullum,
and The Spoilers, by Rex Beach.
Reads Western stuff
"You see, he reads mostly Western
stuff" explained our guide; but then
| he heard the sound of an automobile at
the door and Dempsey happened in
| just III time to show a much more dis
+. eliminating taste. He had been tc ID
that he would do no more boxing until
/ Saturday and so we got right down to
the subject of books. The champion,
! without either shame or bravado, ad-
mitted that he read quite lot
| No" he answered. 81 didn't like
1 that lazy Y book much ] was on a
ranch once. There's a lot of hokurn
! in those Western books. There was
one book there | was reading was a
good book like that. The name Of
it was The Czar's Spy"
Maybe if grand duke was to read
: LpA 1l0l y i G,.l
! it was lot OF hokum."
! Dempsey was not to be Jared out
os his literary enthusiasm Its the
best book I've read down here" he
said He couldn't remember the name
of the man who wrote it, but he wanted
to find ont to have everything straight
and accurate, and so he looked care
| fully through the big bookcase until
! he found it. The author is William
/ Lequeux.
Having read a good many stories
written about Jack Dempsey from time
| to time. we had been led to believe
whom Jack London created for the
Reno fight or sentimental Irish hero
patterned after the roles which
Chauncey Olcott used to play.
Neither portrait seemed to suit him
quite. There was no swank and no
hravado about him, and yet while he
was a little embarrassed at having
! thre strange newspaper men, one of
them woman. suddenly thrust upon
him, he had ease enough to keep away
from both show-off and silence.
Jacks Ears Unmarked
No casual observer could be sure at
lsone glance that he was a prizefghter.
Members Of other professions wear
green-checked suits. We saw cloth
| topped shoes in the closet of his bed
on were all right. His teeth, splendid,
big white teeth, are all present and
in line. His ears are not marked in
spite of the blow he received in the
fight with Brennan. His nose has been
broken, but not more than once.
He could pass for a fullback regis
tered in the scientific school of any
one of several big Eastern universities
up till midyears at least. His eyes
rather more Intelligent than he really
is, but the man is not dull, by any
means.
"If you have no eyes, and want to
see," explains Bernard Shaw in his
! preface to Back to Methuselan, "and
keep trying to see, you will finally get
eyes"
Dempsey wanted shoulders and BIZ
ceps and he got them. There is a good
deal of creative will power in the man.
Maybe ne could have had something
else if he wanted it, but right hand
punch semed the nearest useful thing
at hand Moreover, ~ getting this
thing which he wanted he did have at
least one useless quality very thor
odghly hammered out of him. He never
wastes moment in seeing himself as
q romantic figure.
Not Much on French
Gwen the heaviest browed fighters
of past generation used to go in for
this sort of business and in particular
took pains to impress the public with
the tierceness of the hatred which they
had for prospective opponent. Some
body asked Dempsey if he was making
any progress in learning French.
Mot so good said Dempsey
That's too bad the reporter said.
You remember how Young Corbett
licked Terry McGovern by talking {,
him and making him mad. You can t
| do that to Carpenter
| I'VE amt near we'll enough acquaint-
ed for that kind Of thing" answered
| Dempsey.
The talk then switched to oldtime
fighters, and somebody remarked that
| OSul pSCy HdQ never seen any OF the
| champions except Jess Willard. "And
| that was birdseye view" said the
woman reporter, but Dempsey was not
| to be drawn out about the fight.
Il don't remember nothing about it,
he said Somebody asked him about
Freddy Welsh, and Dempsey said that
the former lightweight champion looked
| al right, but that he needed q few
| fights under him.
"None of them will ever admit that
they're all through" reporter sug-
! gested.
'Of course they wouldn't. What's
She use? Who wants to see anybody
! fght when he says he's through ?" said
| Dempsey.
Would you admit it ~ he was asked
"It'll ali depend upon how I'm liked"
he said.
Expects to Lose Some Day
| Indeed Dempsey, unlike most fight
ers-and certainly unlike most cham
| pions-has not the slightest hesitation
in allowing himself to think of the fact
that he isn't going to be top OF the
heap forever. He has even picked out
| the spot fer his declining years. He
intends to live in Los Angeles.
| About this time the conversation
/ Jagged and Dempsey said after a long
pause, Well. it certainly is fine dav.@
and so we decided that his brain had
gene back to thinking up new muscles
and we came away But first we