Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-07-19

very great extent they shame our sluggers.
But there has been less humbug about the
management of the Clevelands than there
has been about our team. AS matters look
now the Clevelands are Just as good to take
tor fourth place as any team below them on
the list. The Phillies are about as high as
they'll get and there seems little hope of
Brooklyn, Pittsburg and Cincinnati getting
higher than the sixth notch. They make a
good fight for the three last places, although
the Brooklyns are quite liable to make q
big squirt.
About the Little War.
While President Byrnes was in the city
during the week he expressed himself to the
effect that the trouble between the Ameri-
can Association and the League would soon
be settled. He went on to say that there
were many intimations coming from the As
sociation to the effect that settlement is de-
sired. He further said that almost all the
Association clubs are losing money, and
that many of the stockholders are tired of
1t. Of course, this is Just as might have
been expected, and it was really expected.
The American Association only has itself to
blame for any trouble that may have over
taken it, and before any settlement with
the National League is effected the latter
has duty to perform. 1t has to make up
its mind that certain persons connected
with the Association be ousted from the
business entirely before any reconciliation
can take place. The integrity and dignity
of the game demands this. There are char
acters connected with the Association who
have been adisturbing element in baseballfor
years, and for the League to recognize them
now would only be to place these charac-
ters in position to keep everything in a
tumult again. In fact, the safety of the
game demands that not only one or two
magnates, but few players be kept out OF
the business. OF course, this is strong
and, at first sight, tyrannical mode of pro-
cedure, but desperate evils require desper-
ate remedies If the life of baseball can
only be saved by keeping few disturbing
and disgraceful characters out, the question
becomes very simple one. Here 1t is:
Would it be better to have the national
game ruined, or to preserve it by keeping
few persons out of it? 1 don't think that
any friend and admirer of the game will hesi-
tate about the answer to that. Certainly it
is unpleasant to have trouble and i'll feel
ing, but 1 would sooner keep burglar at a
distance amid all the i'll feeling in the world
than to have him in my house. The Ma
tional League cannot afford to make any
and this fact should not be lost sight OF.
The Homewood Races.
If ever there was any doubt as to the
popularity Of horse racing in Pittsburg it
ought to be dispelled after the events of the
week Just ended. The Grand Circuit was
opened at Homewood and it is no exaggera-
tion at all to say that there never was such
great race meeting in Pittsburg. The
of I ha OFT q
exceeded the most sanguine expectations,
and for once, at least, we can say that the
Homewood meeting was in reality success
in every respect. am, indeed, glad of that
fact, because the directors and stockholders
of that track have had quite long and
wearisome struggle. There is not track in
the country that has been more handi-
capped than the Homewood track, and,
amid the many difficulties surrounding it,
the directors have struggled bravely on to
keep it intact and make a success of it.
They have succeeded finally and they de-
serve all credit. But the success of the race
meeting is also a very great benefit to the
city, and our wiseacres should see this.
-Four days racing, such as We have had,
does not make the city one whit less moral,
and depend upon it commercially much
good results and surely there will
be no more foolish attempts made
to prevent the races. Well, the Grand Cir
cult has opened in famous style. The con-
tests were excellent and the time made in
the majority of the races shows that the
quality Of the horses was first class. An
event of great local interest was the race in
which Dallas and Hal Pointer met. The
latter, though little off, once more showed
his superiority. 1 think We will all be
now convinced that Dallas is not the equal
of Hal Pointer. But there was another in
teresting feature of the meeting, and that
was the very peremptory way in which the
judge, Van Osten, 'sat down" on any at
tempt to pull" This was proven in the
race in which Charley Predmore was sus-
pected of not trying to win with Min
Young. Whether or not Predmore did try,
the fact remains that when he was taken
out of the sulky Min Young won the next
two heats in very fast time. am not GO
ing to argue as to the right or wrong of
what the judge did, bat contend that the
effort to prevent crooked racing will have
very good effect on the sport. 1t is to be
that when the Grand Circuit has
been inaugurated so well in Pittsburg that
matters will be gay and lively right round,
and as result we may have one of the
best seasons for the circuit that we have
ever had.
Athletic Contests on Sunday.
The amateur athletes at st. Louis and in
some of the other Western cities have
formed new organization because the A.
A. q. will not countenance Sunday con-
tests. Briefly stated, several Western ath-
letic clubs which were members of the A.A
U. applied to have Sunday "feld days."
but this was refused by the national body.
AS result these Western clubs have with
drawn from the A. A q. and made an or
ganization of their own. and it may be ex-
pected that the new organization will be to
some extent rival of the A. A. U. Well,
the entire matter hinges on the Sunday
question, and once more I am inclined to
think that the A. A. q. has made a mis-
take 1t seems to me that in this matter
the A. A. U. wiseacres have been too much
inclined to look on society as they would
like it to be and have taken too slight a no.
tice of it as it really is. I am, trust, no
advocate for Sabbath desecration; of course,
I may have my own conception as to the
limitation of the word desecration, but do
not propose to discuss that branch of the
subject this morning. What want to point
out is the fact that it is foolish for the A. A.
q. to ignore the custom of a very large
community and there is, indeed, a very large
community in the South and West where
Sunday is to great extent utilized in
atheletic and mental recreations. These
recreations are allowed to go on Sunday af-
ter Sunday by the civil authorities and in
the face Of that the A. A. U. declares to its
out West, ''you people cannot par
ticipate in these recreations with our sane
ton" In other words, while athletic con-