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Show CHAMPION GIVES CREWT TO FATHER Jack Johnson, champion heavy- j weight pugilist of the world, has made a confession. He told tho secret of his success In the prize ring for the first time. "You want to know the real secret what goe me started right away back when I was a kid?" he aBked. "I'll tell you It was my father, who was a slave before the war and who drove a United States army wagon througn almost all the struggle. He was the most perfect physical specimen I have ever seen, and he gave mo the first lessons I ever had in taking proper care of myself, which is the basis of all physical culture. Father was not a giant In stature, but he was built like the old Roman gladiators. He could lift enormous weights and wsis'h fairly good wrestler, but he never did any boxing. He died In Texas six years ago, S4 years old, and strong till tho day of his death. "When I got started on my career as a boxer I always used to remember remem-ber that instruction he gave me. I had such admiration for his physical strength that whatever he said made a strong Impression on me. I realize now that I got my real start toward success In those old days down south, watching my daddy and heeding the advice which he gave me." The negro champion Is Interesting at all times, which is more than may be said of most heavyweight champions. cham-pions. He keeps hlmsolf guarded like a cabinet officer against all attacks of the pad and pencil brigade, and It Is necessary to pass a horde of jealous jeal-ous sentinels before one can get a word with him. The champion welcomed his visitor with the softest British drawl ever heard in the "black belt." His pronunciation pro-nunciation is amiost fussy in its pro-clseness; pro-clseness; he slurs his "rs" aud says "eyethor" and then elevates hi3 eyebrows eye-brows "I didn't intend to see any one at all today," ho said, "but as long as you're here, why, stay as long as you like. KeepB nie pretty busy here-Jolly here-Jolly big lot of things to see. Such a jolly big lot of things to worry about. What do you think of my place, anyhow7" any-how7" , . . The reporter declared his conviction that it was fine, whereupoon Jack launched into a discussion of the reasons rea-sons why he had chosen to enter business. Is No Millionaire. "I'm no millionaire and I'vo got sense enough to know that Old Damo Nature Is going to take tho speed and strength away from Jack Johnson the same as she did to Sullivan, Jeffries and the rest of them. So I'm just getting ready for that time. When a man gets to my age tho training grind gets to be too much of a strain on him. anyway, which brings me to something I want you to say for me. When Labor day come3 around Jack Johnson Is through with tho fighting game, and that goes What's the use of risking sickness for the sake of a few dallors more or leas? Any one that wants a match with me had better bet-ter hurry up and get it quick, because there Isn't' much timo lofL I'll fight Al Palzer, Sam Langford, McVey, Jeatinette any of them, Palzer preferred. pre-ferred. "I do believe Palzer ts best among the 'white hopes" here Jack smiled his amusement "but any one who thinks he's good enough to whip me can have a lot of my coin to cover Ivo seen that man fight and I tell vou now that I can stop him I'd bet jack Curley now that I could lay this man Flynn out cold inside of 10 rounds: that's how much confidence .I've got in my condition since that Julv 4 workout." Jack admitted that life runs along preth slowly for him when he cant find any one good enough to step into the ring with him. "Between fights I don't do anything at all," was his way of expressing it. "I get up in the morning, take a run out to the park in my racer, and come home to breakfast Then maybe I tinker with the car a little and take It out again. Usually I pass the afternoon after-noon going around among my friends and at night my wife and I go to the theater. ..... "I have two hobbies now wnicu iaite up lots of my time." he went on. "One v of them is tho study of the tubercular 3 gorm and tho other an Invention of e mine, a triple compound cylinder for a steam engine which. I believe, ought ( to be a good thing. I've always been fascinated by machinery. When the Lake Shore and Pennsylvania first put on their 18-hour trains between Chicago and Npw York I used to go down to South Bend often just to watch them go through, and It was on one of these trips that I conceived the idea of my Invention Some day I expect to put money into it and push it hard." Johnson announced he was engaged In writing a mongraph on the tuberculosis tuber-culosis germ and how to exterminate it Some years ago, when his wire was threatened with pulmonary trouble, trou-ble, ho made an extensive study of this scourge, with the result that he has formed some positive opinions. |