| Show TALES TALES' OF CHILDHOOD NOTHING SUCCEEDS LIKE SUCCESS I By DR LOYAL CRANE HOW THE BATTLING BULL WAS BORN Charlies Charlie's interest in the manly art ait of defense self defense dated from that pugilistic classic of 1922 the Demp- Demp sey sey bout of Boyles Boyle's Thirty But nut it was not only through the new newspapers nj and the movies that Charlie was exposed to nor indeed even principally principally principally prin prin- through these channels that the infection lon had been carried but butra I ra rather ther through the agency of Charlies Charlie's Charlies Charlie's Char- Char lies lie's father himself who was one of most ardent fans Naturally Charlies Charlie's father attended the massacre It is indeed highly probable that he had a ringside seat But wherever he may have sat he certainly had a splendid view of the proceedings for he had apparently missed no detail deail of the near annihilation Lion of the gorgeous Georges And for weeks thereafter I he regaled the family nightly with lurid word pictures of the marvelous marvelous mar mar- sl skill UI of the gladiators their clever hooks and feints their deadly deadly deadly dead dead- ly body blows and benumbing rabbit rabbit rabi rab rab- i bit punches etc ad never missing an opportunity to illustrate his remarks with striking poses of ot othis his own graceful if it somewhat too portly figure But Mrs Harvey could scarcely b bl be said to have been thoroughly apprecIative ap- ap of her husbands husband's enthusiasm 10 for lor the manly art Harvey I wish you'd keep still about all that prize fighting They're just a couple of wild animals ani ani- mats mals fighting in a ring while willIe a hundred thousand crazy men pay paya a fortune to watch them pound each other to bits So saying she turned on her heel heeland I arid and rid disappeared Into the l kitchen vowing that her son would neither take boxing lessons nor attend prize prizefights tights fights not If It she bhe had anything tosy to tony ny y about it And strangely enough she thought she did Now ow Master Charles Harvey was but one of a very considerable numer num- num ber Jer er of youths and youths near-youths who at et that time found themselves thus similarly situated b between tween a paternal paternal pater pater- nal nai admiration and a maternal antipathy antipathy antipathy an an- for all pertains to fis- fis tiana their allegiance seemed almost with one accord to gravitate gravitate gravitate tate to their respective fathers Little wonder then that secret meetings of ot the Battling Bulls be began began be- be gan to occur with considerable regularity reg- reg And their purpose was frankly to acquire skill in all an that pertains to pugilism Their clubhouse clubhouse clubhouse club club- house consisted of a a. deserted barn half fallen apart and was vividly decorated with all manner o of posters post- post era ers and newspaper clippings illustrating illustrating illus UIus- their favorite heroes in ac ac- ac- ac tion Any Anyone one of the mothers of this group would have turned pink green and white in rapid succession had she chanced to find herself Inthe in inthe inthe the role ole of an unsuspected observer upon an active session of the Battling Battling Bat Bat- Bulls I It Is not my purpose here to present present present pre pre- sent any brief either for or against the squar squared d circle cade I wish rather to call can the attention of my readers to the fact that in many Instances gangs originate from a common desire among a considerable number number number num num- ber of boys to indulge in some forbidden forbidden for tor- bidden activity It may be boxing It may be gambling or even so comparatively Innocent a 0 aice ice vice as smoking Parents should realize that the impulses back of ot these desires cannot cannot cannot can can- not simply be made to vanish at atthe atthe atthe the behest of a parental prohibition If It Mrs Harvey had been a wise and i resourceful mother she would have found other channels through which Charles Challes might have gratified his yo youthful desire for tor the exhibition exhibition exhibition tion of manly prowess Indeed a clever parent might even have succeeded succeeded succeeded suc suc- in transforming the Interest interest inter Inter- est eat into the moral practice of doIng doing do- do Ing lag lag-a a good turn daily dally which the Boy Scout masters so successfully stimulate Psychologists call can this substitution substitution tion and drainage It is sound practice in everyday life in spite of the long names it goes by |
