The Connecticut labor news., 1923-06-29
SULLIVAN FACED PEONACE AFTER
 KILRAN FIGHT

SldVe camp III TlO11Qa faS IeV1VeQ III
 terest in the peonage system of leasing
 ern states. John L. Sullivan, former
 champion heavyweight pugiist of the world, faced peonage at one time during | his ring career.
 Sullivan was convicted of prize fight 1 ing in violation of the laws of Missis-
 Slpp1 and sentenced to years imprison-
 ment. That meant as soon as he begar | to serve the sentence he might be hired | from the county prison supervisors, by 1 any person or corporation and set at any
 labor anywhere in the state his contract
 master choose.
 Sullivan never served day. But
 Jake Kilrain, defeated by Sullivan in the
 18th round of bare knuckles. battle in turf ring at Richburg, Miss, July 8, i 1889, did serve two months on his con- i viction of assault and battery in con- nection with the fight. The fighters were arrested after they had left Mississippi and taken back to that state. So were their seconds and others. Among those arrested were William Muldoon, now boxing commissioner of New York, and Charlie Mitchell, English prize fighter. None served time except Kilrain.
 Charles Rich, sporting lu1nberman of Rlchburg, saved Kilrain from convict camp and got into trouble himself there by. The Sullivan -Kilrain fight was held in Richs lumber yard-ringside seats SIS, others $10 apiece prize $10,000 side: no picture rights, no signed articles; no admission fees to training camps.
 Rich, taking advantage of an old law >, bought the convict services of Kilrain for, the term of two months sentence from the Marion county prison supervisors and took the defeated fighter convict into his home as his guest. Judge 5. H. Terrall, who conducted the trial of Sull1- van, directed the grand jury to indict Rich for violating the statutes controll ing the leasing of convict labor ln that Rich had failed to compel k1lraln to per form manual labor for l2 hours every day of the two months of his sentence while leased to Rich.
 John L. Sullivan's lawyers took an appeal from his first conviction and sentence to a year in prison and won. At this second trial before Judge Ter .rall, to the surprise of all but his ad- visers he pleaded guilty. Spectators said afterward John L. turned away to conceal his tears as he rumbled out, guilty Things looked bad for him. The whole country knew of the Rich Kilrain case, of course, and there was no chance John L. would be permitted to loll away his prison term Ill any hne country house.
 Public sentiment, however, had been aroused to sign protests to the court against undue severity. The state up| to that time had paid out 75,OOO and Marion county $7,OOO, on the prize fight cases and the people wanted that expense to end.
 John L. was fined $500, which he paid at once. The reaction toward len iency extended to Rich and others. Then John L. started out to celebrate in true Sullivan fashion. Before he got through he had made a bitter enemy of Muldoon, who had at his own expense trained Sullivan for the fight and been his second and manager throughout the more than two hours of battling.
 First and last, Sullivan said later, l his defence in the Mississippi actions cost him $18,O00! ''but at that 1 was ahead of the mill,," he said He re- ceived $21,OOO as his share of the pro- eeeds of the fight.
 The day of the fight most of the telegraph business of the state con sisted of messages to Governor Lowdry | from anti-prize fighting zealots all over the country. They had ragged for l weeks, and learned too late that the battle was to occur in Mississippi and not in louisiana, where Governor i Nichols had vetoed 1t .
 Governor Lowdry had ordered out the Meridian Rifles to halt the train from New Orleans, eight Pu1lmans and day coaches and four mail cars, bearing fighters and their crews and a crowded mob of fight fans. The militia1nen took station at Pearl River, rifles loaded with ball cartridges and every man determined to do his, duty and get good look at the famous John L.
 When the train reached Pearl River, the Meridian Rifles halted it. Crew Iy. This deceived the miitiamen, who relaxed their vigilance and busied them selves trying to see Sullivan. Arrest of all connected with the fight had been ordered.
 The crafty train crew backed the rain three miles, and with that for a start came into Pearl River again at 50 miles an hour and did not even hesi- ate, though the militiamen fired on the ast coach after 1t passed and wound ed one passenger.
 Fighters and fans reached Richburg n the evening and the fight began be- tore noon next day.
 Before it began the local sheriff entered the ring, read the riot act, >alled on the assemb1age to disperse md was promptly hustled out by the fight promoters, ably assisted by the ownspeople who wanted to- see that battle as much as did the spectators who had come from all over America md from Europe to witness 1t.
 There was fear of inter inference every minute of the long fight, and as soon IS 1t was ended there was rush to ret away from Richburg. Sullivan, aken in hand by Muldoon, was hur- jed to the railroad station and put on he waiting train for New Orleans.