Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-08


a nv age to assemble hi
NV thoughts on paper, the
chances are his effort viii
be jumpy. l was born II
Kansas City, Mo-, January 2, 1870, an'
my life has been jumpy. They ever
say that my manner Of speech is Jumpy
It is hard to realize, as l sit here il
Madison Square Garden, New York
surrounded by pictures of fighters anC
comforting hourly with boxers, man
ayers, promoters, matchmakers anC
newspaper men, that 40 years ago wa
following the second herd of longhon
driven across the plains of Texas int
Kansas-north of SO.
Mind you, worked on cattle ranch
at the age of 10. Emerson Houghi
great pioneer story, North Of SO" read!
to me like diary of my early days
Following the lead of that historic hero
across the Red River into Kansas
went with the second batch.
have been town marshal in Texa!
as we'll as a cowboy. Later I was II
the Klondike for the gold strike.
have acted as banker for the gold dus
of the miners. I have conducted gam.
ing houses for their amuSement-anC
mine.
Cut Wood, Staked Claims.
I have cut wood for the Yukor
steamers. have staked claims for my.
self and have purchased mineral prop
critics for big corporations have pro.
NOTED prize fights, or boxing matches
as the officials prefer to call them. In
deed, my life has been jumpy.
Before me are piled more than zoe
letters from men in various sections OF
the country giving suggestions, in an
swer to my request, on what would be
the subjects for me to discuss. Fifty
per cent of them suggest that tell the
secret of my success in being able to
select the right boxing matches for the
right moment.
How are you able to call the turn
every time?" some ask.
In other words, how do you correctly
figure the public mind.
Equally as many suggest narration
of my days in the Klondike. The third
group would like the inside details OF
the big fights I have promoted. The
letters then run of into odd queries like
this: How do you make these rough
neck fighters keep their cOntractS?" OF
l"Who was the cruelest man you eyel
saw in the ring?"
There is no secret method of aScer.
tanning what current subject the public
is interested in. To me it always seems
apparent. I simply read the news
papers carefully and find out Any
body can do that. The thing people
want to see is the thing they talk about
most.
Advertising Greatest Power.
To my mind writing is the most ir1-
teresting art in the world. Advertis-
ing consider the greatest power in the
world. My assistant has suggested that
I use the word publicity" That may
be more proper, but always / have
considered what ] read in the news
papers about people as advertising
them-making them known.
Ali you've got to do is read the news
papers daily and find out what the
greatest number of people are talking
about Also, I listen to what people
say about what they have read in the
newspapers. If you are promoter that
is the thing you want to capitalize
That has been my method.
A lot of people do not think in {
straight line. They get confused b.
side issues. They ramble off the tar
get, and miss the real point. I reckon
you know these people who can tall
all day, and you never find out wha
1t is all about.
I suppose my early training laugh
me to know straight talk. In thos'
days when every man on his own the!
had to talk straight. Before I was Is
I knew the difference between straigh
talk and 'hoorah," as we called in then
That is what We now call bunk" "apple
sauce" and so on. In my kid days {
man was either giving you straight
talk or he was "hoorahing." Believ,
me, the most innocent and ignoran
knew the difference
The man who tells you he doesn'
pay much attention to the newspaper!
is either a fool or a liar-maybe both
A lot of smart-alecks like to say that
too.
He Cites An Example.
New York had an experience tina
put lot of folks wise A pfessmeni
strike practically stopped all the paper
for week and people were hopping
laround like chickens with there head
off. Stores were hit so that several o
them printed a sheet in imitation o
a newspaper and had criers out on thu
street trying to give away their ad
vertisements.
One little dumb-bell of a fight man
ager had been bothering around for
week to get picture of his fighter anC
a boost for himself printed. He talket
all fixed.
Say" he said to me, coming int,
my Office all steamed up, what kind @
town Is this? I've got three Of then
papers and there amt a line abou
nothing but ladies' underwear and {
coat sale-and me giving that guy
dinnerm
That fellow had actually bought {
dozen OF those store papers!
Never day passes but some frienC
or acquaintance calls my attention Il
some fighter who would be a grea
match with Dempsey, with Firpo. OF
me of some wonder who will give sucl
and such man great fight.
Wishes of Public Rule.
listen, but such suggestions meal
little to me. / don't care a rap Wit
the man is or how we'll he can fight
All want to know is: Does the publi
want to see him? To get that, / reat
the newspapers and find out which wa
the gossip is heading-who is mentione,
the most. Really, ! don't see anything
complicated about it.
Notwithstanding what has been writ
ten and said about building up falls
interest, let me tell you that is +:
mighty hard thing to do. The writin
men can spring all the stuff lik
that they want to, and we may do al
we can to keep it going, but unless tn
public reacts to it the built-up interes
will soon die out. Real interest per
sists and grows. That's the stuff t
put your finger on.
Take, for instance, the Dempsey
Carpenter fight. Nearly every figh
man in the country had feeling tina
such a match wouldn't be even; tina
Carpenter was too light. Others nigh
have given Dempsey a better fight, bu
the public weren't talking about Others