The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-04-26

ing q scrap OF paper that don't
mean nothing" so far as the gentle
man unwilling to pay is concerned.
1t seems that George L. Richard
who took the beak- busting game
from the low and vulgar masses and
placed it tremendously into the laps
Of captains of commerce and lions
of society Of this fine old world of
ours promised Dempsey that if he
would agree to fight Tunney in New
York he would get plenty Of protec-
ton, and no foolin'.
Il II
To the better class of citizenry
this might possibly SAVIOR of pecu-
liar craftsmanship, tinctured by a
little fashioned deception,
burglary and second story work,
presenting a situation likely to
outrage any limousine occupant
with an exalted code of morals.
ID Ut there is really nothing to be-
I'D come shocked about and the
better class of citizenry will learn
this for themselves if they keep on
deserving the roulette wheels and
Bicardi cocktails for these inspiring
spectacles of Drawn VS.. skill, in the
order named.
OF course George L., in this par
ticular instance seems to have
kicked one, as the boys say, by put
ting it in writing when he could
have used a carrier pigeon, a pony
rider or, in an emergency, an instru-
ment known to mechanical science
as the long distance telephone.
George L. was thought to be much
smarter than that in his manipula-
tionS and even if he meant to con-
vey to Dempsey only fatherly as
surance that if he fought here he
would get none the worst OF il, I
fear that the lower class citizenry,
prone to skepticiem IS they are, will
insist On Interpreting the message
lii q vicious manner.
Still, as I say, the incident is
quite trivial because heavyweight
have been picking their referees
and judges with both the right
and the left hand for a great
number Of years.
NER. DEMPSEY has always eXer-
1V1 cised tremendous huency in
this respect. Frequently he openly
picked his own referee and on such
times managed somehow to get
break that did him no important
harm, as was instanced in both the
Firpo and the Sharkey fights
In most cases this was a needless
precaution because Dempsey, when
he was going good, was one fighter
who didn't need a referee he simply
hit the boys and they stayed hit.
Anybody who could count to ten
was qualified to handle one OF his
fights There we're times Of course
when it was not easy to find
referee capable of mastering this
advanced form of mathematics.
Il
n '44G4OA WC4C wv 4-4oCe414ONo NAACAl
Il Dempsey had to step in there
with a referee who was SO little
known to him that he had TO call
him Mister"
The first instance was at 1Oledo
in 1919 when he won the champion
ship. If Ollie Pecord was anybody's
referee he was Wizards, the then
time champion. Pecord didn't give
Dempsey any of the best of it,
though the fight was so lop-sided as
a competitive test that Wizards
old man could have refereed and the
result would have been the same, if
not worse.
The other instance was at Chicago
last fall when the referees were
mysteriously switched at the last
minute. Dave Miller was to have
handled the fight. He was a Demp
sey man. Protestations to the com
mission by a Chicago sports editor
friendly to Kearns backed up by
Chicago promoter friendly to Tun-
ney compelled the switch and Dave
Barry drew the assignment.
What Miller would have done in
the seventh round can only be left
to a stinted morOnic imagination.
What Barry did is an open secret
To Mr.. Dempsey, 1 am TOLD, it is
1