POOR DARCY!

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1667, 27 January 1917, Page 4

POOR DARCY!

NEARLY £IO,OOO IN TWO YEARS

“BREADWINNING AT £OO A WEEK.

DETAILS OF HIS INCOME

Pity poor Les Darcy! The ex-Australian champion, who sneaked out of Australia, and is now in the Cniled States, has, according to a cable received by the Sydney Sun a few days ago, told a New York Sporting Life interviewer that he left the Commonwealth because he was (he breadwinner of a large family, who would suffer if lie were disabled or killed at the war.

His case is truly a sad one. For, since June, 1.91.4, he lias received from Stadiums, Ltd., which controls boxing in Australia, only £9,697 6s Id. It would not be fair or proper to ask a man who earned over £3,000 a year to go to the front and tight for his country. Let the poor devils whose wages do not reach more than a couple of hundreds in the 12 months do that. A £3,000 a year man is a breadwinner. whose life and limbs should be sa fegttarded. Of course, such justification is not always necessary. Although making more than £3,000 a year. Georges Carpentier has not expressed a desire to leave France. He has shown himself a real fighter and a real patriot—not merely a fighter in a roped square for money—and has won distinction on the field of battle for bravery. But why make comparisons.’ They are odious at best.

The fact remains that Darcy, despite his threat to enlist and his talk a tier he left Australia that he would volunteer in Canada or (treat Britain, who proclaims that “he left Australia because he was the bread-winner of a large family, who would suffer if he were killed or disabled at the war.”

In view of this, some authentic particulars of his earnings in Australia will prove specially interestin g. On a couple of occasions approximate figures have been published, but the details now given of his earnings from Stadiums, Ltd., are umiuestionahie. And they show that from the time he came into the limelight in Sydney in dune, 1014. up to the time he ran out of his return match with George Chip, which was fixed to take place in Melbourne. he was paid £9,(107 (Is Id. From dune, 1.014, to dune, 1015, his income from Stadiums, Ltd., was £3,121) 10s, while in the following 12 months his pittance from the same source was £5,52(1 8s (Id. On top of that he received £044 7s 7d for his last two lights in Sydney. During the six mouths prior to his clandestine departure from Australia he earned £2,520 (is 7d, details of the amounts he received being as follow:- —March 27th, v. Les O’Donnell. £l2O ss; April 8, v. George Brown, £413 3s (id; May Kith, v. Alex. Costica. £3OO 14s (id; dune, 3rd. v. Buck Crouse, £303 11s 3d; dune 27th, v. Dave Smith, £420 4s 0; September oth, v. .Jimmy Clubby, £375 7s (id; October 3rd. v. George Chip. £SOO 0s Id: total, £2,520 (is 7d.

I))' (mmusi*, nobody would suggesl dial all the money Darcy’s fi^htiujiability brought him in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane was (dear profit. He was said to have paid t’I.SOO for the farm lie bought lbs parents; but his only other large item of expenditure was the money he spent on lbs motor ear. Apart from these sums there were lbs training expenses, but a liberal estimate could not place those at more than 30 per cent, of lbs earnings. So that, after allowing for everything. it would be safe to say that when Darcy disappeared he had a reserve of (dose on £(1,0(10.