New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-10-27
rur .ruLErLC DETELOPMENT

This week will see the last of the baseball
c,on,os which are commonly called Important
and will settle the rival pretenSlonS Oh the
New \ ork and Brooklyn clubs to the somewhat
sunortluouS title of worlds champions mas
r,Icb nc there is no baseball worthy the name
in anv other country-thOugh within the year
interest in the game has been stimulated IN
ra,ious quarters of the glObe-the claim oil
international supremacy amounts 10 hoViihS'
The contests on a thousand DIAMONDS uurlhs
the season Just ending have arOuSed dh "l'o
pether extraordinary amount OF Interest," anu
demanded from the newspapers an enormous
amount of space. We dareSay that cohSiuer-
able proportion of the readers OF every i've
journal have asked themselves score OF times
what the editors were thinking about Wheh
they surrendered so much room TO reports OF
boII games The fact is, as every editor knows,
that = sufficient number of his readers expect
and demand these records to make the pubca-
ton of tbom unite worth while. The time is
NOT long rast when a newspaper could easily
afford to dismiss outdoor sports professional
and amateur, with a mere alluSlon. similar
Indifference NAV at some time hereafter eAst
again. but certainly there are now no lndlca-
tions that it will. 1t apparently Is not onel
4" crazeD such as occasionally sets the entire
nonulation to solving some ingenious puzzle
which has swept over the country. The pop
Mar enthusiasm for athletic pastimes has broad
foundations. and has, to all appearances, como
to stay.
The circle of open-ar sports does not quito
occupy the whole year, though it comes annu-
allv nearer doing so. When the short and
passionate season of college football closes
there is by no means cessation OF muscular
activity though there may be lull dul1ng the
winter And yet tobogganing, coaSung. lhdoor
tennis and bowling are steadily adding TO the
number of their deyoteeS, and the four cola
months are the best months in the year 10
thousands of vigorous men and women. such
an expenditure Of energy could not possibly be
made without accompanying excuses Whlch
bring their own penalty. But 1t seems TO us
that no one who recalls the past vividly or
considers the present without prejudice can
fail to rejoice at the transformation which
few wears have wrought Satisfaction at the
change is not circumscribed by single set of
considerations. The present generation Is
doubtless leading a more sensible life than the
last to the extent that rational exercise has
taken the place of ballroom diversions and the
enervating idleneSs of clubs and cafes not to
speak of the lazy delights of dressing gown
and slippers; but we may reasonably anticl-
pate that subsequent generations will derive
by inheritance and example still more perma-
nent and comprehensive benefits.
1t is not always possible to trace the springs
of a popular uprising and probably several
plausible theories might be advanced to ac-
count for the athletic fervOr which has taken
possession of the country. Perhaps the col
eges are to be credited with the original i'm
pulse. Certain it is that during the dark ages
which preceded the present renaissance they
kept a field open for physical nvalrieS. And
it is not to be denied that they now contribute
largely, by the sports they literally support
and through the disciples whom they annually
send out into the world, to the general enthusi-
asm. Wherever the credit belongs for the
first steps in this rational advancement, the
distinction is one in which any man might be
Glad to share.