Evening star., 1940-04-09
From the
Press Box
What Is Dewey Doing
About Joe Jacobs?
BY JOHN LARDNER,
Special Correspondent of The Star

BY JOHN LARDNER,
Special Correspondent Of The Star.
NEW YORK, April 9 (N.A.NA).-
In the heat of the campaign, it be-
gins to look as though Thomas E.
Dewey, the scourge of the under
world, is loafing in the case of
Joseph (Yussel the MUSCLE Jacobs,
alleged partner in a felony in the
State of New York.
It Is no secret that most political
observers believe Mr.. Dewey would
be cinch for the presidency If he
could clear up the case of Yussel
the Muscle. His men are said to be
at work on it. And what does Mr.
Dewey do? I'm glad I asked that
question, because it puts me in mind
OF the chorus Of a song popular
just after the Spanish American
war:
ut was a dewy morning
In the dewy month of May,
When a gentleman named
Dewey
Sailed up Manila Bay;
And when the Spaniards
sighted him
The guns began to sing,
And what did Mr.. Dewey do?
He didn't do thing"
Dewey Rhyme Apparently
Is 40 Years Too Soon
Historically. Of course, this is all
wrong and misleading. According to
the best information, Admiral Dewey
mopped up at Manila Bay and won
a comparatively gorgeous victory.
Those songwriters will do anything
for rhyme. It looks now as though
they wrote the dirge 40 years too
soon, and with the wrong Dewey in
mind. It describes to T the work
of the modern Dewey, Thomas E.,
in the case of Yussel the Muscle.
You'll recall that Yuss was the
manager of Max Schmeling at the
time when Harry Thomas, the sub
mersible engineer, allegedly took a
dive to Max. According to the best
aff1davits, Thomas accused Yussel of
urging, inciting, and prodding him
into this act of reverse violence. And
fixing fights is felony in New York
State, where Mr.. Dewey is the duly
elected scourge of the underworld.
Meeting one of the scourge's as
sistants the other day, asked how
the case was coming. It has been
on the fire since last fall.
WELL" said the Dewey man, lit
will take some time
He said a mouthful. Already 1t
has taken considerable time, with no
relief in sight. James A. Farley Is
chuckling under his breath. When
the Jacobs case broke in Mr.. Dewey's
territory on the eve Of this election
year, Mr.. Farley feared that MIR.
Dewey would crack down on Yussel
the Muscle and thus win 18 Demo-
cratic States. But the scourge ap-
pears to have muffed the chance, un-
less he is saving Yuss for a timely
bombsheu on the eve of the Re-
publican convention. o.
Hints Of Setups for Poychek
Should Be Investigated
TO take a more recent, If no more
serious, case, there has been a lot
of talk about the fight record of
Johnny Paychek, who was executed
by Joe Louis without a return blow
last month. The rumor is that Pay
chek's record, which won him the
Louis fight and $1,000, was highly
synthetic. They say he leveled his
opponents in Des Moines, Iowa, and
adjacent points with nothing more
than dirty look.
These allegations should be looked
into. The jig is up with Paychek's
career, but in the interest of future
heavyweight title bouts, and of
Louis prestige, all citizens of Des
Molnes who watched Paychek build
himself as a killer should step for
ward now and state whether they
believe it to have been hugger-
mugger or the real thing.
Once it is clearly established that
John came up by the tank route, If
he did, the facts should be dropped
In the lap of Michael Strauss Jacobs,
the promoter, so hard that they will
make Michael's store teeth rattle.
If Jacobs Was Ignorant
He Foiled in His Duty
do not say that Mr.. Jacobs had
Inside knowledge of the Paychek
record, any more than the National
Boxing Association had inside
knowledge of the two fixed fights
with Harry Thomas and Otis
Thomas) which earned a title shot
for Tony Galento. But If he didn't,
he should have. It is Michael's duty
to himself and the public to protect
the prestige Of Joe Louis, the most
interesting and valuable piece of
fight property in the world.
Joe is a good and honest fighter,
but he'll have terrible time proving
1t if any more Paycheks are passed
of on him.
AS for the Thomas-Joe Jacobs
Schmeling case, If Mr.. Dewey is 60
ing to skip it to give his personal at
tention to the news flashes from Ne
braska, he should at least urge his
men on the fight detail to get busy
and discover what is what.
At the risk of seeming to be
prejudiced, I think this is just as
important as the doings of Lepke,
public enemy No. 68. A fixed fight
affects a million-dollar industry and,
more important, the personal rights
Of every fight fan In the country.