LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 395, 2 January 1909, Page 2

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

THE COLOURED BOXER. Sir, —Tour issue of yesterday contains some - remarks by a local doctor which purport te. . show that "a European'boxer is always at s ■■ disadvantage against a;, negro" in a boxnig contest, owing to a peculiarity in the "eye of n negro." .That contention is obviously entirely at varianco with the ! history of tha therefore of boxing. In order to ' prove this it is unnecessary.: to name in dotail the scores of, good coloured boxers who llavo gone ' under - to the good white boxer. Lot ns consider the three outstanding- examples, namely, Black Perry, iPeter Jackson, and Jack Johnson, the present champion.By common consent each of these men is re.' garded as the highest. qualifications.required Hran'elfective: boxer; that is, strength, courage;' resourcefulness, •*-■ and pugilistic-.science.-v Bach : :'of. these men, b.v tho same common consent, is regarded as being equal to tho best white boxer of his day. Yet what do we find? find that in spite of their abnonhal qualifications each of these .men has been fairly beaten-, by a white.- ' boxer' possessing the same AcK .. : . cording to your doetbr, .'other. ;things ' being equal, the "eye of a negro" will enable him . . to. defeat the white boxer. Tho weakness of this contention, is abundantly, evidenced by r ';'. the records of the prize-ring/:What advan- : ',y tago did the "riegro eye": give" to Peter Jack- -- ; . sou when - C-orbett (possessing fewer qualifi- - cations) fought' Jackson a sixty-one rounds draw?: : _This splendid coloured boxer, this 1 good white boxer, fight on and on to a stand- • stillfight, till neither can' raise his arms ;, . . fight, -till they can scarcely . stand 1 on their-r. feet; a .tremendous battle. . According to tho best .judges, .Peter' Jackson- was much: the better man.,: Where, the effective- v ness of your, doctor's ; "negro eye" P , Again, Johnson,', the .present....champion,' went: under -badly to Marvin Hart,, although '.: Johnson' was certainly the better qualified. What was -yourj,doctor's, remarkable'"negro. , eye". .doing .ther/? .. Where was its. "disad-v,'. vantage" agairit Marvin Hart? : In all.'hu-. 1 ;. man probability, ere long Johnson himself, .with both of his! negro eyes, will go under to ; : the_ white boxer. In spite of which your, illogical doctor (supported by the "Post"writer) will probably: still; continue. to, teach : his misleading, science. The truth appears tc be this,, that, given equal conditions, the dogged obstinacy, of the .white boxer always gives V-"v him • a winning chance against. the coloured ■ - 'boxer. A word as to the alleged brutality of. the rectot Burns-Johnson contest. First of all, •['. it is admitted that the fight itself was'a per-/:V ; fectly fair one, so fair that it,was-not found .- necessary to warn -or oration either of tho , , , , .champions. :If it Was one-sided, Johnson -can- - ; not be blamed for that. . (The recent Webb-' : ■ Arnst rowing contest was equally so.) Iri a ■; . |it resembled the. Sayers-lieenan and : : Fitzsimmons-Corbett 'fights, with the ■ differ*' once that the police stepped it. Presumably 1 : this was done the moment that tho superiority of the coloured man was placed beyond Argument. And what more would people. have?. It is true that.they fought under extraordinary conditions. Burns lost few op- ' ; portunities to express open contempt for ''tho ■. rjigger,"' r ashe termed Johnson. Burns, went/'' so far as'to post him in the ring with: "You our.".. ..This is not. the . true"' sporting spirit. 1 This is reflected in- a cable: from London" which appeared in The i Dominion on Wednesday: "Owing, to Burns's laok of popularity in England,-.sportsmen generally are glad at the!result of the contest." . Nowj if sportsmen generally disliked Burns's manner of saying and doing things, how much more so did Johnsonj who : was personally concerned ?;-*VS It is complaiufed- that-^Johnson' v tio" that Johnson; fighting''*as he was under'gross pro-"'. vooation, confined his observations'to' mere " ; joking. He does'not appear to havo used stronger remarks than Burns did during his ; : recent contest with the; comparative : novico ' Lang.—l am, etc., . . H.M.S. ~ Jannal-yl,- 190 D. ' . THE POLICE AND CRIME? : : i Sir,—Reference- has -'been made in your-,' .J----of the police force-in : "Wellingtonr 1 would -like to mention', that the fault is., not-.;en-~ tireiy thenumber- of. police,' but"the 'main' fault is the lenity of some : judges in d?aV • iug with crime. - Take :the' Nireah^'stickiite-'-' ~ lip case,'''for: instance; • where' : ,a' 'masked, 'mai J.' V, with a previousVconyiction enters {i post, ofiSce .; . savings bank f -aiid-: co-operative. store /builds' ' ings : .with -. ; two loaded' revolvers -at . nine and'teii-o'clock . qt night, and,demands the .manager- to ' put his hands up, and ' threatens to shoot him dead if he moves. 7\ ■ The judge appears to have listened to a special' pleading by : defendant's ..lawyer that ' , .prisoner did. not; intend to plunder, and ; i sums the .case u'p ; as ,-t-he prisoner .being fool. ,than'v ; crirainali -and' ; pa'sses;;'th'e J (inert/-;':. ; nothing) sentence of three, months without : hard labour. Why not give him a -gold , medal fof '.the 'be donerwith- it..- ; The more you ;r?view.' this case 'and tho possible'ifesulta, 'tho inoro absurd appears tho ' 1 , sentence. Being a fool should not .constitute -an excuse. All criminals may bo classed ■;.. as fools. If the prisonor is such a-fool,, as to-go with d mask and loaded revolvers ; , into business • houses where a quantity of :, • money is kept he .'should' not- he letj at largo ,' the>: shori ; '.of :'.thi;ee'. months. , Perhaps fivo or ten'years and , a flogging , might develop his brain. The case demands a medical examination. '; . ' '.. .. • tlf the prisoner did not intend plunder, .whywere the revolvers loaded? it was mere lucJr ' that two gentlemen wore at tho. place Ott, business .that night, otherwise;a trageay.niight have '-happened,as .a nieifi" quiver of. the . , finger would i .hayo completed ' it* leaving 1 a ■. .. •wife and . six- ! children to. fight the world. . There is little satisfaction to anyone to stand in front of two loaded revolvers. and . ' a masked man to protect other lives and , public property/ and- have the judgetake it as a joke, and t-ell tho prisoner he ought . •„ not to have gone where a woman was m tho house, as they are likely to be terrified. You read of oases whore men' have.ten- and ~ twelve, previous c-onviotioris - against- them. Docs it not appeal to ■ common sense, >if a criminal has four' or fivo convictions, .tlio sixth at tho utmost should land him out of: the community,for tho rest.of his life? What '; is the use of keeping a .'great' army' ot police to look after another army .of criminals J :■ Thanking you' in anticipation, I am, etc., r . '. F. H. DOWDEN.