Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-08-25
Gene Tunney
Likened TO
Old faithful
Must Spout 4 eg0lefN,
McLemore 4P%es
BY HENRY Mel Ignore


motions. 1t might even be
safer 10 call him Secretary of
the Navy TunneyD
Anyway, Admiral Tunney or
Commander Tunney, or what
ever kind of Tunney he is at the
moment. is still trembling from
stem to stern after firing his
vocal guns broadside at the cur
rent practice of allowing mill
tary athletic stars 10 participate
in sports for the business Of rails
ing funds for navy and army
relief chests.
MO ONE was surprised at
~ TuRneys outburst.
He is like Old Faithful, the
geyser out in Yellowstone Park,
in that he must spout of every
so often.
If he didn't-well, there prob
ably would be tremendous eX-
plosion and Bernard Shaw would
have lost a dear friend. the
world would have lost one Of its
great scholars, and the whisky
company of which he was once
head would have 10 fly its flag
at half-mast and name a 5-year-
old Bourbon after him.
A man can safely set his
cuckoo clock by Tunneys out
bursts.
Remember his one against
cigarets? / forget exactly what
he said but II was something TO
the effect that a man might
just as well play leap frog with
a puma or wear a python for d
tie as 10 smoke a cigaret.
YOU recall the instantaneous
Il effect il had on the smokers
of the country.
The cigaret factories closed
down, men stayed indoors for
days lest a Whit of the vile
smoke reach their noStrils and
curl them up like anchovieS. and
Tunney was hailed as the savior
of his fellowmen by a powerful
cult with headquarters in Social
Circle. Ga.
Now he wants all athletes in
the armed forces to- be forbidden
10 engage in charity baseball.
football. basketball an d all
other sorts of games.
He doesn't want A Feller 10
pitch, Louis 10 fight, or a
Standlee TO run with a football.
Tunney said that a revival by
the armed services of the rec
reatlonal and spectator sports
exhibitions would turn the
training Of men as military war
riorS into a Sideshow."
I HAVEN'T the figures on how
L many of the athletes in the
armed services have participated
in relief exhibitions since We
went 10 war, but my guess Is
that il i a mighty small per-
centage, and that for every one
who has temporarily laid down
his gun 10 WELD a piece of
sports equipment, thousands
have stayed in their camps and
worked at the business OF be-
coming a soldier.
Tunney seems 10 forget that
the army and navy have Co
operated in these exhibitions in
which military athletes were in
volved. Not only co-operated,
but encouraged such exhibitions.
Tunney surely has been in
service long enough 10 know
that an athlete has to have per-
mission TO engage in these re-
lief contests.
He doesn't believe that an
athlete can just check ont Of
his own free will and abandon
soldering for the playing of a
game.
TIVE chances are and this Is
Il based on what ] learned Of
young Americans during Is
years of sports writing-the
chances are that 10 be called
back 10 sports after starting 10
play in the toughest game Of
them all-war- gals them.
What about the money angle?
Tunney doesn't mention this at
all
The contests have raised hun
dredS of thousands Of dollars
for the families Of army and
navy men. Doesn't this matter?
Up until now the country
hasn't been told that il is Of
no consequence. OF course,
Tunney may have inside knowl-
edge on this. If he has, why
not let the citizens who are sup
porting these games, with hard
cash in on the information so
they can stop hindering the war
effort by their patronage?
Tunncy is quoted as saying
that a continuance OF the army
and navy "extravaganzas' will
lead 10 return TO "the era OF
wonderful nonsense"
I wonder if we are not already
in il when men like Buckley and
O'Hare are outranked from
here to yonder by a-well, you
finish the sentence.
Nails are little things but All
Club members in GreensburC.
Ky. recently salvaged 3.12o
pounds. of them from the ruins
of burned tobacco warehouse