Waterbury Democrat., 1901-03-25

 al league.
 In the circuit court at Fort Wayne, Ind, recently, Judge O. Rourke handed down an opinion reversing the decision of Justice Butterman ill the case of the several Fort Wayne and Dayton base ball players arrested last season for playing ball on Sunday. Justice But erman had fined the defendants 1 cent and costs. Judge O'Rourke fined them B and costs, amounting to $200, and in so doing scored the decision of the low CT court as ''disgrace to the laws and dignity of he state.'
 President Killilea of the Milwaukee club says: 'It may be an open ques- ton what he best base ball is, but take it that he article which causes the greatest enthusiasm and attracts the largest crowds is the best. We had that last year, and any impartial judge will say that the quality of ball put up by us last year surpassed that of the National league. Our games were faster, and seem to have taken hold with the public"
 Never in the history of base ball at this time of the year have things been so dull as they are now in St Louis. The sun is shining brightly, and the players ought to be out on the field practising, but there are no players in sight, no club manager, no anything. Less interest is taken in base ball than was ever known at his season of the year since St Louis has been repre- scented in the national base ball organ ization. The owners of the St Louis club are non-residents; Donovan, the i, olS n0p-pncilnnt
 It is when the baseball fans of this state come to think of the many fail ures of these Massachusetts cities that they feel like getting down on their knees and offering thanks to Manager Roger Connor and James
 H. O'Rourke for the position they took when a big effort was made to rope the larger cities of the state league into a combination affair with head quarters at Boston. If that scheme had been carried out we would have been watching baseball in the back lots this summer instead of being part and parcel of the most important little league in the country-Bridge- port Post.
 The small army of "fans'' who pat ronized the game in St Louis last year thought more of Young and Criger than they did of all the rest of the players put together. Now rumor has it that both of these great players are to play in Boston this year,which means the weakening of the St Louis team at least % per cent. Young says he has not yet broken away from the St Louis club. but will do so if the Robi- sons do not meet the Boston American proposition. The departure of Young op1 CriUar fo SOW nOtbinp Of tho 1OSS sustained in McGraw, Robinson, Schrecongost and Hemphill, will put the club in awful shape for playing his hands full trying to put a team to- gether that will make even respect able showing. The base ball loving public here has great respect for Don ovan, not only as a player but as manager, and believe that if he is given full sway now he will get together q capable organization.
 The Boston team, without Collins, Stahl, Duffy, Freeman. Clarke, Sulli- van. Dineen. Willis and Lewis, looks as if it would be out of the reckoning from the start. The New Works. mi nus the services of Pitchers Carrck. Mercer and Hawley, together with Gleason and Grady and also Pitchers Garvin and Sparks. who were assigned here but did not choose to come. are weaker by 100 per cent than they were a year ago. The Philadelphias have been considerably weakened by the desertion of Lajoie. Slagle, Fraser, Bernhardt and possibly Thomas. The Chicagos are in a crippled state. For Jack Doyle they gave up GanZel, Strang and Garvin to New York. Me- Carthy. Bradley. Griffith and Callahan have jumped to the American league. Therefore the Chicagos are weak in the box and want a third baseman as much as Brooklyn does. The St Louis club is almost a wreck. McGraw, Robinson. Criger. Schreckengost Young, Jones. Keister and Hemphill have Jumped the Robisons. who have been compelled to borrow Catcher | Nicholas of Chicago to help out. The ] CincinnatiS, though they will be with out Barrett, the crack centerfielder, ap- pear to have been strengthened a trif1e | by the addition of Amos Rusie. provid- | ing, of course. the big fellow can show his old-time speed.
 | The champion Brooklyns will begin the National league pennant race weaker than they were last year. Man. ager HanlOn on the eve of the Strug- gle finds himself so completely tied up | for third baseman, an outfielder and a pitcher that he is naturally per turbed. When Han1on sold De Mon treville to the Boston club he had no idea that Lave Cross. his reliable third baseman. would not be with him again. But since that time Cross has signed with the Philadelphia Ameri- can league club. Little Casey. who should have been kept by the Brook lyn club as general utility player. cannot be secured, for he has signed with the Detroit American league club and is the captain of the team. It is barely possible that Hanlon may be compelled to move Dahlen from short
 field over to third base, where Bill has
 already shown himself to be a capable player. but in that event who will play shortstop the way Dahlen can? Cat 1 ins? Well, hardly. Gatins is an un-
 seasoned greenhorn, who has been Knocking around in t11a rrfpo,. 1oa Ouac