The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-09-19
STARS IN ECLIPSE
HOW LIQUOR HAS DONE GREAT IN
JURY TO A PAIR OF
PLAYERS.
LAJ0IE AND RED soCKALExIs
LOOKED UPON THE WINE FAR TOO
OFTEN AND FAR TOO
ARDENTLY.
cAYLoR's SERMON TO PLAYERS.
Systematic Efforts to- Stamp Out
ROwdyism-The Pennant Race
Home Stretch.
LAJOIE AND RED SOCKALEXIs
CAYLoR's SERMON TO PLAYERS
Special Correspondence of the Globe.


stars who entered the National league
within the last twelve months with
the most brilliant prospects have al
| most thrown away their fortunes by
| the excessive use of liquor. One is
Lajoie, of the Philadelphia club, and
the other is SockaleXis, the much-talk-
ed-of Indian on the Cleveland team
Both were recognized at once as play
ers who had abilities to stay among
the major stars from the outset.
Neither could stand fattery and sue
cess. Probably they had the. love of
strong drink before they reached the
| goal of their ambition in the base ball
profession, and their success among the
top notchers' set that love on a riot
run.
Lajoie early in the year was looked
upon as a probable candidate for lead
ing batsman of the profession By
his indiscretion he killed off any such
chance which he might have had His
GROWING offense was to appear upon
the field in uniform in such a decided
state of intoxication that every specta-
tor In the stands recognized his condi-
ton. He was suspended Indefinitely
and fined. Then the Philadelphia club
made the general mistake which, of
repeated, has done more than any one
other thing to encourage breaches of
discipline in the profession. A few
days later it found it's team badly Grip
pied by accidents anG sickness, Lajoies
indefinite CD suspension was removed
and he went back upon the team. Is
it matter of wonder that the Phil
adelphia team is constantly rent with
breaches of discipline?
Last year Rusie was out of the game
all season because the New York club
would not remit two fines of 5000 each
President Freedman admitted that Ru-
sizes presence in the nine for one game
only would be worth $4,000 to the club
and his presence with the club for the
season at least $25, 900 more. but he de-
clared he would close the gates Of the
Polo grounds for good before he would
remit the two fines. History shows
how firmly that stand was maintained
and how it was applauded by every
one who admlreS man whose con-
victions of right cannot be moved by
the temptation of gain. This year
there is no better disciplined team in
the land than the New Yorks, and Ru-
sic is the most tractable of them all
The rich harvest which comes to the
club from this years campaign is
much of it, the fruits of the clubs re-
sisting the moneyed temptation last
season.
The case of Sockalexis is almost as
deplorable as that of Lajoie. He entered
the big league under the most f1atter-
ing. conditions. His ball playing-par-
ticuIarly his batting-surprised the
veterans of the profession and became
month or more of the season. Then
the fact that he was of full Indian
blood though highly educated and
possessed of all the refnements of a
white man, made him doubly a hero
in every city where the Cleveland .team
played.
Suddenly his heavy batting declined,
playing in general ranged from poor
to bad. Finally he dropped out of the
nine entirely. The real cause was for
awhile suppressed A bad ankle was
the excuse given to the public, but
facts cannot be strangled, and the
truth went abroad SockaleXiS had
succumbed to the curse which has
been the bane of his nationality ever
since civilization in America put whis-
ky within the reach of the aborigines.
SockaleXis admitted it himself, and
seemed to be determined to redeem his
great error What is the queerest part
about his case is his claim that until
he became ball player he did not
know the taste of whisky. But when
he rose to be hero and a public pet
his admirers surrounded him. They
must do him homage. Mere hattery
was not sufficient; more seemed to be
required to show their admiration for
the young Indian ball player. Whisky!
Indians instinctively liked whisky.
Sockalexis was importuned to Join
US" His first refusals were soon brok-
en- down. The step was taken. All
the national love of fire water" lying
dormant in his soul famed out, and
the famous new star of the base ball
field went out like a meteor.
A. S. Soden, of the Boston club, who
is also chairman of every national
league meeting, has announced that at
the apprs aching annual conclave in
November at Philadelphia, the first
and chief object of the delegates will
be to devise some effective and positive
means to stamp out roWdyiSm on the
ball field. He proposes to bring every
club president and manager into ac-
cord on that much desired object, and
once plan is devised to bind them
down to it with means which shall be
ironclad and which cannot be trampled
under foot as soon as the season opens.
Mr.. Soden's design is most commend
able, and if all his fellow club presi-
dents were Of his courage and stability
of mind the object could be accomplish
ed, but past experience teaches that
| these magnateS get together between
seasons and covenant to unite in
stamping out this growing evil among
their players. They are philosophers
| then, but as soon as the championship
season begins most of them are the
| first to cry 'robber'' at the umpire and
to urge their players to make life mis-
cradle to that official. Why? Because
| they mean well in winter when they
are reasonable, cool headed men. When
| the contests on the field begin, they
become the crankiest of cranks. The
| word is not wrongly applied to these
! eXcitable persons at ball games. L
| have seen the president of one of New
YcIk's leading banks in the most ridi-
! culous actions during games at the
| Polo grounds He will shout Thief
Rotten Kill him. at the umpire
and root in tight places like a boy on
the bleachers, jumping up and down in
his seat, waving his hands, stamping
| the floor with both feet like pile driv-
| ers, perspiring like a harvest hand and
making himself VIGOROUSLY ridiculous
| Next day at his bank it takes two
! yards of red tape, wait of thirty min
utes and lots of moral courage to get
| into his dignified presence. This Incl
| dent is real and not a picture of the
mind It explains why the word
Crank was introduced into base ball
And when we wonder that two of every
| three club owners and presidents of
| National league clubs are base BAH
'cranks'' it is the more easily under
| stood WHY the we'll laid winter MANS