Evening star., 1942-02-23
Eddie TAFT Believed
Interned in Manila;
Famous Snowman
Native Of Chicago Took
CurnivoIs to JuneIes,
Promoted Boxing
By Wide World News.

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 23.-
Stocky little white-haired Eddie"
TAFT slipped . greeting card into Z
Manila mailbox last November read
ing, "A merry Christmas ana 4
happy New Year from the Philip
pines"
He must b thinking in different
terms today. That was before the
Japanese moved In. The card has
reached the addresSee here three and
q half months later.
Stewart Eddie TAFT, presumed to
be interned, since no other word
has been received from him, has
been an American resident Of Ma
nila for 20 years. He Is known as the
No. ! sportsman and leading show.
man Of the Philippines.
His wanderings through the East
Indies and the Orient with circuses
and carnivals brought him q meas
ure of wealth, friends ranging In
social status from cannibal chiefs
to sultans. strange experiences and
the title, "Barnum Of Borneo."
A Native Of Chicago.
Mr.. TAFT was born In Chicago, on
Halstead street. As q youth he
needed Horace Greeleys advice. lit
orally and substantially. After stop
ping Of In San Francisco long
enough to engage In two professional
boxing bouts, he signed up as .
steward in the Army transport serv-
ice. He had 40 more fights aboard
ships during trans-Pacific crossings
before settling down In Manila.
Since that time he has linked to-
gether q chain of "firsts" dating
back close to the turn of the century.
In boxing he and his partner, the
late Frank Churchill, were the Tex
Richards Of the Philippines.
Together they promoted the first
professional fights. Previously the
only matches held were between
American soldiers. When william
Howard Taft was Governor General
Of the Philippines, boxing was
banned in Manila. 1t was decreed
the sport was bad for the morale Of
the Filipinos.
1t was resumed under q new ad-
ministration. The Tait- Churchill
combine organized the Olympic Ath-
letic Club. For Q time all matches
were between members Of the white
race. Boxing gloves were mysteri-
Gus accoutrements to the natives.
Natives Quick to Learn.
They were quick to learn, Filipino
boxers are noted for their scrappi-
ness, agility and gameness. Among
the heroic defenders Of Bataan
Peninsula today. fighting under Gen.
Douglas Macarthur. undoubtedly
are natives who learned to box under
the promotion of Mr.. TAFT.
Under the Tait-Churchill banner
rose Pancho Villa, who won the
worlds f1yweight championship:
Dencio Cabanelli I, rated by Mr.. TAFT
as the greatest Filipino fighter he
ever saw; Pete Sarmiento and many
others.
Professional boxing is only one of
the enterprises Mr.. TAFT pioneered
Among others were:
First motion picture theater, q
nickelodeon. In Honolulu In 1907
First movie house In Manila In
1909.
First dine and dance cabaret in
Manila.
Imported first outdoor attractions
Slicb os corpiyolS
Took first merry-go-round to
Dutch East Indies, Malaga. Siam,
Indo-C China, Burma, Borneo, New
Guiana.
Produced first motion pictures
with an-Filipino casts.
Movie moguls are not compelled
to speak a million dollar language
in producing pictures in the Philip
pines. Mr.. TAFT turned out q full
length feature film for $4,000. The
star received $500.
Carnivals in jungle Lands.
Some of the most interesting
chapters in Mr.. Tait's career are
based on entertainment in the
jungle countries. Whole tribes.
some of them half wild, would walk
in and camp near the carnival
grounds for days. They paid OF in
old coins, Mexican, Spanish and
Dutch, some of them 800 and 400
years old. In the Mohammedan and
Buddhist lands, the tribesmen are
partial to the girl hula dancers, but
also whooped it up on the rides.
His carnivals played command
performances for sultans and once
the former King of Siam (now Thai
landD took over the entire show In
Bangkok.
A sultan in Java attended q per-
formance surrounded by his wives.
He was a huge, fearsome looking
man. He tainted when q performer
went through the daily routine Of a
100-foot fire dive. Once in India
his freaks were missing when the
sideshow was to start. He discov-
cred them gaping at . fakir lying
on a bed of spikes.
Two years ago, on his last visit to
the United States, Mr.. TAFT told of
opening a new horse race track in
Manila. 100000 enterprise
Fields of 20 horses start. The cards
were composed of 20 to Is races,
starting at 9 o'clock in the morning
and lasting until midnight. Bets as
low as Is cents were accepted.
In addition to all the other activi-
ties, Mr.. TAFT when last heard from
was president Of a gold and copper
mining company on the Island OF
Rapu Rapu, operated a merchandise
store in Manila and still could find
time to discuss his first love, boxing
hours on end.
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