Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-08-09

and he was openly backed up in it by the Clcvclands. The Louisvillcs also would not have been avcrsc to the plan. Yet, to show how far from a successful outcome the scheme remained it Is but necessary to say that nearly every eastern club Op- posed it, although such an arrangement would have temporarily put money into their trCasurics, and it would require a unanimous agreement of the l2 clubs tO cause such n transfer tO bc made
 There k no doubt that every club in the League would temporarily benefit by such a change, but the after effects would surc- ly be slow death to tho game west of the Allcghanics. It took too long to build the game up after the late War to let n few minimizing, grasping Inagnatcs pull it down again in the middle sections of the Union.
 It Is true that, comparatively speaking, tho attendance upon games Is very small in the western cities. But it would be put ting the casa in trucr light to say that the eastern attendance has been phcnom cnally large. whcr'as in the west the rc- vival iS not felt to any decided extent Comparisons between the vast crowds that fill the eastern grounds and the mca- ger attendance. in the west make the west crn magmatv> cnviuu>. But. inasmuch as the League divides its gate pSripts equally between home and visiting clubs. the rich rcturns in the east kNrp the western clubs out of financial diStP>s.
 Then. ar' numb,r ,f rc;sUns that can bc assigned to explain the depression felt by the western half of the National league 1 The clubs have been disappointing in their play. But two of the four arc in the first division. and thosc two are farther hack | in tho racC than their patrons placed them in prospectus last spring. The Clcvclands' gOnd start. followed by their great ito | began act in May, cooled enthusiasm | on Lake Erie quicker than ton of icc could cool n cucumber. Tho chill was sO great that the Cleveland hooters have not sincr had a chance to warm up. | Chicago, tUU, was disappointed, and the western metropolis will not support n los | ing club. st. Louis and Louisville have | nothing to attract the public or appeal tn 1 local pride. In Cincinnati, when its team | was making that r,,cord of II straight vic tories, tho attendance kept growing fast | and furious, liko n squash vine on a warm night in June. But it was merely | a spurt. The dump came, and aS CinCin- nati cranks have had I0 years experience in that same old channel the '-bOum" col laIrSCd as quickly a. il came up
 Pitt~burg. by far the hest baseball city | in the Union, population cunsiiCrvi. has bcCn sor'ly disappointed, They had rPasOn to expect n good showing from their team this sca>on. The Pirates wcrc cxtcn- sivcly tuutCi aS the probable winners carly in the year. But their pitchers went tC picc,'S. and n team with poor pitchers is like the Biblical house that Is built upon | the sand
 These arr the main causes for the com parativCly poor turnouts in the western National league cities, But other factors | arc nt work tending to aid that end Tho labor troubles and financial distress have been felt mon. in the west. IL is also the section whyrc sunday ball playing is iI | vogue l have always CuuTcndcrS{ hat Jht | policy of using the sabbath to take 1T money at baseball clubs gates was { ruinous business speculation. l bclicv, Sunday ball playing has done much tC keep the game unpopular in western citic. among a certain class of people whose pat ronagc should bc courtcd. ThcrC is nC mOrc rCasun for opening tho ball parks or sunday than thcrc Is to open the racS tracks on that day. In rCfCrring to Sun day games I am discussing the question purely in a business sense without refer cncc to the moral issue.
 But thcrc Is deep laid dissatisfactiO: with the particularly poor showing mad' 1 in attendance at the Cleveland games Thcrc is no s,'crrt made of the club own CTS dCsirc to get out of the business or that account, and his attempt tO that cn6 made last winter will probably Dc remcm | bcrcd with better success after this ssasOT ends If Clcvcland's franchise bc sold anC transferred. Buffalo, Detroit and Indian aIolis will each make bids Buffalo would get it without doubt wcrc 1t not for thu city's geographical situation. A cit! farther west would give better satisfac tiOn to the schedule maker.
 Of course this talk of weakness in thu wcsE gives rise to the old, old story tha
 there arc tn bc western and eastern circuits next yCar-that is, the National league will split, and tho intcrsectional game will not take place as they do now. d. not brliCvo the National league will evC agrVc to COnflnc itself to the Atlantic sCa board. It would lose its nationality h! such n change. Thcrc Is much moro prus pcct of n rrturn tO the old eight club cir cult, with Chicago, Cincinnati, Pittsburl and Baltimore in the western circuit ana Boston, New York, Brooklyn and Phila delphia as tho eastern half
 Still the chances are that therc will b no chang' in the circuit next ycar unles the Cleveland franchise bc trnnsferrcd.
 Meantime August has come, with tn
 Eastern, New England and wcstcrI leagues and the Western association do , ing business at the nld stand, with prUmiss' of closing tho season in guOd flnAn cial shape Thcrc arc less baseball wreck this year in August than therc has bcel