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Show ins that I was of the opinion that Jeffries was thuld of Johnson, but his attionu kind of boar me out In what I have said, just the same, for he has , announced that his condition was Rood and thai he would he able to pet Into shape; but he does not say that ho will fiRht. Johnson's Wife Is White While lie Is . Colored (By Eddie Smith.) Oakland, April 9. When Jack John-t-on returned to America after his winning win-ning the championship from Tommy Burns, he announced that he would gi to Galveston to visit his mother before be-fore entering into business contracts with tho promoters or owners of show houses. The colored population of that section sec-tion Immediately bandod together to give tho big smoke a great reception, when the news was flashed across the country that Jack was packing along a whlt wife. However, the gentlemen ; of color in the south sent word thai if such was the case the reception ; would be considered off. The colored peoplo of tho south evidently evi-dently took exception to tho big colored col-ored man taking a white woman for Ms wife and they took no pains to hide their feelings, and why should they? Suppose a white man hail won the championship of tho world and had been married to a colored woman? Would the white people idolize hlrn? "Well, I should say not. Johnson tried to stall Off the criticism crit-icism of his colored brothers by say- ' Ing that the wife was part colored, j but the people who have had occasion occas-ion to make au Investigation say that this Is not so. They have said that there Is not a drop of colored blood In her body. Just at present Johnson Is the one I big prize package in the pugilistic camo and he has reached a place of prominence that none of the colored i men before him have ever been able to reach, partially through the fact that the white champions would not figlit them. Johnson Is surely in a position to be envied by his colored brethren of tho boxing game, and with the exception of George Dixon ho Is the only black lighter to have ever married a white woman Dixon waa one of. IT not the greatest great-est feather-weight fighters this country coun-try ever saw; la fact, I am of tho opinion that he was the greatest the world ever knew. George was exceptionally ex-ceptionally popular with the fan of pugilism, and to this day peoplo refer to his name with reverence. Dixon married, u white woman and he, too, felt the sting of criticism for his actions. ac-tions. Dixon had considerable trouble with his wife and for years his matrimonial matrimon-ial troubles would crop up every once In a whlbi. Even though he found that his great popularity overwclghed tho criticism that fell on his shouldera, ho nevertheless found that he was 'ostracised 'os-tracised from both tho whites and tho blacks socially ! DUon said many times during the after years of his career that the ono I mlutake ho made In his life was tho taking of a white woman for a wife, j Johnson may not find it quite as hard I as Dixon, but judging from tho way I tue BOutherners have 6tarted after him his path Is not to be strewn with loses at that. The ouly thing that Jack has to redeem re-deem himself with the colored population popula-tion Is the fact that he apparently has Jim Jeffries buffaloed. Standing as he does at the head of the fighting brigade brig-ade of the world's flatlc artists, the Mg smoke is dally defying the white man to come out of his shell and take a chance at taking the championship sway from him; and as the time goes by and Jeffries does not make a move the smoke becomes bolder, and each time that ho makes a speech he saya something more humiliating to the big champion and his friends. Peoplo have laughed at me for Bay- |
