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Show Wi "First Prize Fight io France a.Comedyybut Crowd Didn't Know It.':--; H IS By STERLING HEILIG. ' - Paris. Saturday. 'rOME old Americans In France are still puzzled. ' They look back on a lime (it seems yesterday) when boxing had simply no existence ex-istence In France; when the world's heavy-I heavy-I weight championship could be fought at f Chantllly as on a desert island. The eyes of all America and oreat Britain were on it. "Sullivan and Mt'chell ' Went out for to tight." . . i Yet to Frenchmen ln four newspaper lines next day) the maWi appeared eccen-! eccen-! trie, barbarous. Incomprehensible, unlnter- ', rstlng and completely negligible. ; That period lasted until yesterday say, 1907. Yet in the spring ot 1914 Paris con-I con-I flfiered herself tho pug:llstlc centre of the world. And now Carpcntlcr! Carpentler Is all right. But has there been ' lime for it to get into their blood and bones -, io produce great natural fighters? Iiemem- ber. France was often misjudged before tho war. France was not degenerate but pa-' pa-' ciflc: and. unprepared with heavy artillery, 1 rhc took those German shells on her bare breast and drove Iho Germans from tho IMarne. But boxing scorns different. Neither ' Bayard, nor Athos. Porthos, nor Napoleon were handy with the mitts. Where Is their atavism of the "manly ort." the grandslrcs who '"put up their duk'is" instinctively? First Knockout in France. The first knockout- blow ever deliver Jr. Franco was dealt by Louis Doorr, a Frenchman, who had lived In America and ' bpcn favorably known in exhibitions before tho Chicago Athletic Club. Up to recently ' bo conducted a university boxing school around the Sorbonne. It was aoout 1906. "Everybody supposed that Doerr's victim was .killed. The police were preparing to arrest Coerr. whllo attendants mado perfunctory efforts to resuscitate the prostrate man by working his limbs. (Which treatment, of course, was ineffectual.) Louis walked carelessly to hi3 corner, took a sponge from the bucket of water, and, ' elbowing through tho chattering spectators encumbering the ring, dashed water into tho ' fallen fighter's face. Ho repeated the op- i cration just once, and tho victim revived immediately. The crowd was thoroughly ' iKystlflcd; and M. Castcrcs, a then leading professor of tho aavatc ooxc (hand3 and feet) led Doerr to one side and Inquired what ? ho had done? I simply throw water In his face," waa f. tho honest reply, j "Remarkable, remarkable I" murmured the k French specialist g0 now, for how "le knock-out" came to !: Axl ' I It -was in 1910. I sav it. Two blue. Y chinned tragedians, Uirco pale youths, two (. rt-Xormcd slapstick comedians and thrco H; j; women members of an all French aggrcga- HJ tjon missed tho commercial hotel of the llttlo Hl catering place and fetched up at the moro fashionable Quinconccs. bubbling with summer sum-mer boardc-s. In my room, through the partition, 1 'aught bits ot mysterious rehearsal. The male force was hurrying Into sparring tights and bathrobes C). while the girls hammered on tho door. "Ah. close1" a cigarette voice whispered: "you can prink while I am knocking out Camille. Monsieur Rambo. tell him when and where he falls. Me don't know yet! I'm tired of clinching and don't like his odor." 1 "Ta tn." came the soothing answer, "clinching Is excessively American. Don't forget' your infighting 1 shall tell them Willie's kidney punch is terrible!" "In America, they're goln' to bar it. Saw it in the Aufo." "Is that so? I'll tell them that, too. Now. attention I They arc going down lo dinner! Now " With "now" tho stern phalanx stalked through the corridors and out into the perfumed per-fumed dusk, with vast effect "Brutes!" murmured the old Colonel. "Heroes!" whispered the bud roscB. For thrco days the Casino billboards had announced: "Battling Johnson Meets All Comers! Brogan and Hardy. Welter Champions! Ted Willie Corbctt! Lo Knock Out Guaranteed Guaran-teed ! " The box office took $21-1. and tho nice families shuddered at the sponges, buckets, towels, fans, ropes and manager's brief allocution: al-locution: "Mcsdamcs, Messieurs! Tho 20 centimes supplement stamped on each ticket, and which you havo paid, constitutes your receipt re-ceipt for life and accident premiums of tho evening. No pugilist's family can come back on you for damages. Tho Casino au- thorltles are equally covered. Spectators of sensibility are begged to retire before a brutal but virile spectacle!" Nobody budged. How the Crowd Was Thrilled. Time! It was Brogan and Hardy, also a tiuo dog fight. Brogan rushed his man through the ropes and pulled him out and slammed him up against a bucket Hardy flopped on his back, leaped to his feet, clung in a clinch,, tore loose, then drovo a left on Brogan's jaw, a right on Brogan's oar and hutted Brogan in the chest Bouncing back, exhausted, ho lay on his back, and Brogan hammered methodically on his upturned face while the spectators Oh-ed!" and bounced in their scats. How report those rounds, the business with buckets and sponges! Brogan sported p.n enormous purple ohlner suddenly after a sponging. Hardy nonchalantly pulled out two teeth and threw them on tho floor you could hear a tooth drop! Then the thing recurred which makes tho buds of Beziers, the matrons of Montpelllcr and collegians of Cahors say so superior: 'Carpentler? Oh, yc3; but you ought to havo seen the fight at Ax!" Hardy had gono flat from a right bander. Flopping llko a toad, the gifted comedian was half up and wholly down six times" In seven seconds (his Idea had been to "make It ten and take the count" by which ho calculated he would "win the belt"). Brogan,' Bro-gan,' out ot breith and pallence. folded his crms,- and the flopping genius had the spot-'.ight spot-'.ight to himself. He rolled over 5n his stomach. IIo leered up with blood stained features at the plty-Kg plty-Kg ladles who composed two-thirds of the audience. "Hit film again!" whispered tho retercc. 'No. the poor young man Is resting!" rest-ing!" whimpered tho ladles. And to show Lo wasn't he sagged to nis haunches; and -d v'hlle tho Pollco Commissary starte'd for Ike ring ho got a final and perfunctory clout f:om Brogan, on tho job again. It was Hardy's cuo to do a back .'all. roll, k.'ck. shiver and lie still, sc thin, just as tho releree told off the rounds, the Commlstary ca!!ed out In a loud voice: "That ihe spectacle spec-tacle cease! Tho public is summoned to ".!sperso! " That Is why they did not see Battling Johnson. Kid Sullivan and Willie Corbctt yei complained noL And '.hat Is why. when Brg Jim Johnson with an honest enough . GEORGES CAR.PENTIER. ZLncC HIS BRIDE., sparring outfit showed at Luchon there was disappointment at Its tameness. "You should have seen the fight at Ax!" they said. Paris, of course, was different When Tommy Burns, "heavyweight champion cham-pion of the world." knocked out Bill Squires, "champion of Australia," and when Sam Mc-Vey, Mc-Vey, heavyweight champion of California, knocked out Eon Taylor, champion of England, Eng-land, tho crowds, from C.000 to 1S.000 respectively re-spectively at Eowling Palace and Hippodrome, Hippo-drome, half fashionables and femininity, paid from 30 down. McVey was the Black Bison of the Boulevard. Boule-vard. The night ho put to sleep Herbert Fynnett. the Australian Lemon, the boy manager, one Klcgln, packed the programme pro-gramme with world events. Black Kid Davis, lightweight champion of Europe, knocked out Jimmy Calne, "champion of Sioux City": Dick Green, "middleweight champion of Chicago." knocked out Ben Scanlon, "champion of Louisiana." and Bill Styles, "champion of Seven Dials." was tilled to lull to rest Bill Chester, "middle-V'elght "middle-V'elght champion of South Africa." For a moment the Australian Lemon had 1 een a bigger man (in Paris) than Sam Langford. He had knocked out Scales, champion of Lambert. Shearing, champion cf Tooting, and Wilson, champion of Putney. Put-ney. Paris owed much to theso pioneers, yet Paris is fickle. Homage is denied a fighter '.he minute he loses a battle. Hasn't ho deceived them? He Is not a champion! More than ono American boxer knew It o his sorrow. Walter Stanton was tho fervent admiration of the Boulevard. In' turn ho knocked out four "middleweight champions of England" Dick Bailey. Buitcr Brown. Jack Costello and Tiger Smith. But the moment Stanton lost to tho American. Willie Lewis, he was dropped, even as a tubject for comment. When Lewis Was a Lion. . Willie Lewis In his turn deserved well of Paris where for a long tlmo he-won every tpttle he fought a young lion, taking on much heavier men. And wrote a book. Then Billy Papke came and murdered him In thrco rounds. Whence Paris concluded Willie had deceived them! Papke profited nothing. Too Impatient, too direct to school himself In Paris ways, he heard It circulated circu-lated ho was not a champion and hit a little fellow, a non-pugilist WTon by rumors of.McVcy's affluence. Willie Lewis and Joe Jcannett'c had como to Paris signed up by a Frenchman. McVey was supposed to havo 300,000 francs In tho American Express. Jeannette after three matches beat him; and poor Sam. who had rrcn ao great in Paris, was a dead 'un. As tp Jhe 300.000 francs, it Is not certain that anybody took them home to America. Not Jeannette who says ho Is not crazy about Paris. Yet a very great deal of money was mado over thoso matches. Fashionable women could, see Jeannette train in a livery ctablo yard at Neullly on -icscntation of their ring side tickets: boxoa, f GO: ring side, ?20. Tho spoiled beauties looked askance on Joe's honest routine brushing aside of Marc Gaucher and Wllllo IB Lewis'. "Knock him out!" ilicy pleaded. IH (Who? Anybody!) Until Jeannette. torn HH tetween duties, roughed a trifle for com- IHI plaisance. Wasn't tho good Marc mad: jH "Now. hit him. Marc!" said the tactful lB manager "Joe, throw down your guard!" lH Tbo French champion sailed in. but instead "'IKI of admiring the American mulatto's tough- jlJEI ness, taking railroad spikes on the unguard- lilB ed face, tho fair creatures argued that tho t'Bi Frenchman must bo weak! "No iceth broke! M they sniffed. jH As the poet says. "Where arc the snows 1 cf a year ago?" IH Nor Jeannette, nor McVey. nor Langford. N - , Pl nor Jack Johnson are champions! ' " !. Paris Knows It Alj xCvM Paris knows. arls uas seen Everything, read everything! , 'ff9 When Carpentler. "the premier fist of' '. u' ?B France," at London in 1913 "put knockout" k M Pcmbardicr Wells in seventy-three second ?M after having done It In four rounds at Ghent Bill "just to sec if he could" he won th heavyweight championship of Europe. At that moment he was middleweight Bl champion of Europe by his knockout of Jim Sullivan in two rounds at .Monte Carlo ' HM the year previously. Ho Is equally (they say) welterweight IH champion of Europe by his victory (London IE ?11) over Young Josephs, who gavo up In v the tenth round after having' gono down nine times. jH In 1919; It Is claimed, nc accumulated a fourth championship of Europe. I. c. near heavyweight, by knocking out Dick Smith ' r.r Paris in nine rounds, (The French mako . iho distinction of "mi-lourd.") , , . And again in J919 (It was almost 1920) V VM he defended his heavyweight championship WM cf Europe against ail comers by tho knock- IH out of Joe Beckett at London in seventy- . II four seconds. (II0 was six years older. It 1 w HH Is to be remembered, than when he knocked K cut Bombardier in seventy-three seconds.) IR Paris knows; this Is the sort or thing that counts. Paris knows ihe history of the ring. Some of Its most notible battles havo been briefest Battling Nelson boat William Rossitcr in two seconds. Dal Hawkins knocked out bH Martin Fiahertyln four seconds. Terry Mc- , ., lKiM Govern finished Pedlar Palmer in sixteen Ivui seconds, nnd Sam Langford (right here In Eslll Paris!) knocked out Champion P. O. Curran, ' Bnl advertised as "never knocked down In his " raTld life." in Just six seconds. BjBl Now, about Carpentler. V ' IH lie Is tho idol of Paris, becauso he Is a . . , IH chcmplon. Ho hasn't deceived Paris. Cham- pion? Champions! He is tho more idol be- ' cause he is so plural. He has not spilled ' any, so they claim them ail for him. As is ' pointed out by the best authorities. Carpon-tier Carpon-tier has made and maintained himself cham- pions in four different classes on six occa- f slons! Ho still Is. them, isn't he? You can- ' not take them from him by words. ' A jfl Also, brevity. |