Omaha daily bee., 1902-05-18

This awakening Of q hardened conscience
IL something wonderful 70 behold. Every
body interested in Western league base
bali wants to see things done on the square,
but the idea Of the Omaha man that. the
Western league magnates should quietly
fold their hands and watch such fellows az
Tebeau rob the league Of all Its good play
lows want TO play in the Western league
we are glad TO have them, and II Mckib-
ben can get them three cheers t9F NC NC,
pass anything up. in an attempt TO break
Up the Western league. and II Mckibben
sees a chance to retaliate and can take It,
Mac Is the hero OF the hour. II looks as
tho1g the Omaha fans are getting fright
ened before. they are burned. II Is prob
their lead II the other teams are not
strengthened, and the prospect or st. Jo-
has almost scared them to death. As a
result they have thrown up their hands
IN horror and are praying that MT. Nc
Kibben does not so far forget himself as to
secure a team which can skin Omaha. Go
II, Mac; we are with you.
That ipexplicable faulty which leads
fools to venture where angels hesitate, has
moved the young man who presides over
the sporting page Of The Denver Times, to
express himself in the foregoing. Omaha
exchange" referred to is The Bee, the
excerpt quoted by the Times being from
last Sundays base ball column. The Bee
gladly accepts any responsibility that may
oNloNh W u bliHu Tut nOntbly IN OdSf Dali
and in all other forms Of sport. That the
alleged raid" on the ranks Of the AmeTi.
can association is as unnecessary az Il has
been unfruitful is shown by the fact that
Omaha, which was for many days the
storm center of the base ball war, got to-
gether a team which any city in the union
would be proud to support. and did It with
out asking a single player to violate a
contract or anZ other form of obligation,
expressed or implied. Omaha suffered the
greatest individual loss Of any team
through the jump of Dusty" Coons to
Louisville, and yet we're he to return to-
morrow It would take the management a
long time to decide which pitcher to sup
plant in order 10 allow Coons a place on
the team. When Billy Klingman asked
Tommy McAndrews to Join his Milwaukee
American team rMoAndrews went to Rourke
and laid the case before him. Klingman
offered more money than Rourke was
willing to pay, and McAndrews was given
his release. going. to Milwaukee with a
clear record and his friendship in Omaha
unimpaired. What Bill Rourke did could
have been done by any other manager In
the Western league, except, perhaps,
Duffy, Quinn and Hart. These were handi-
capped by conditions which surrounded
tuelT eHlTdnCe INTO the ledBue, out they
have done what they could and are still
doing all that can be done to strengthen
their teams. In this regard they are en-
titled to all credit, while only contempt is
due the player who violates a contract. the
manager who encourages him to do 1t, and
the newspaper which openly upholds the
dishonesty of either player or manager,
The Raafa raadars. MIL -n.rdo. I'm
further depression for the purpose Of de-
batting a question which is somewhat per-
sonal. The young man of the Denver
Times let's not a single day go by without
taking a poke at Omaha. In last Sunday
mornings edition he emitted the following
joyous whoop:
AS predicted the runaway representa-
tives Of the Soup Bone trust came TO grief
when they ran up against the slugging
their teeth. KID Nichols did the twiriinS
make five hts OF Gh his HSTeSiiverwRa n Wbsile tho 5e
Kansas City team pounded the Omaha
pitchers for twenty hits. The Nebraska
going to run away with everything In the
league now and the chances are that since
yhe i ssd has le ea eeer TO 6r ok he The om other teams teams
omaha's present position in the pennant
race Is the best possible answer to that
sneer, and in fact to the fusillade Of similar
filings from the same source. The fact that
Omaha has met the same teams that Dem
yer has gives also a line on the respective
merits of the two. 1t is not this point that
The Bee now wants to debate, but another
Of far more vital Importance to the West
ern league. AS a base ball center Omaha
needs no defense. Men who are familiar
with the history Of the game in the west
know that no more loyal or liberal sup
porters Of the game exist than those who
have made the game a success in this city.
These people do not demand that the home
team win every game, or that II win the
pennant each year. They merely want good
ball. and the players know that the visiting
team is treated as fairly and as cordially
as the home team so long as 1t plays clean,
honest ball. In all Omaha's base ball ca
reer but one umpire has been mobbed, the
unspeakable Bauswein in the days of 1890,
and we have had to put up with some
pretty bum umpiring at that. But when an
Omaha man digs up his quarter or half
dollar for a seat in sun or shade as his
purse or. fancy dictates, he demands the
quid pro quo In the shape OF a ball game
that is worthy Of the name. This brings
us to the real point at issue. When the
American association people were trying to
get Owner Rourke to switch his allegiance
and desert the Western. the Western mag
mates promised that II he would stick with
them they would give Omaha the best OF
base ball. All the argument brought in
favor Of Rourke's going into the American
hinged on the proposition that Omaha be-
longed in a faster class. Rourke could not
in honor withdraw from the Western, but
he guaranteed that Omaha would get fast
ball. His share Of the promise has been