Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-15
NATIONALS WILL
REPORT: MARCH 5
To Train at GaIveston-Ex-
hibition Games Arranged
With Clubs of the Ma
tionaI League.

ton base ball club to report to him in
Chicago March 8. and on the night of that
date the entire aggregation will board
the cars for Galveston, Tex. For almost
a month thereafter the Nationals will be
going through their spring practice and
incidentally getting into condition to fin
ish ahead of at least three clubs in the
American League pennant race of 1908.
The Nationals have arranged for four
Sunday games during the month Of
March, which should about pay expenses
If the turnout Of Texas fans" Is as
strong as it was last season. These four
games will be played with the New York
Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals. AS
yet the dates have not been assigned to
the different teams.
The Cardinals will take their spring
practice at Houston, while the Giants
will timber up at Dallas. Both Of these
clubs go south about the same time as
the Nationals and as the cities named
are not far apart, It can easily be seen
that the arrangement for the Sunday
games was not at all difficult. The Ma
tionals played the Cardinals last spring,
and there is no novelty in the two teams
coming together, but Manager Cantillon
and his band will stack up against the
Joints" for the first time thereby
arousing considerable interest both In this
city and New York.
After the months practice at Galveston
Manager Cantillon will start the Ma
tionals on their homeward journey, and
they will have a busy time until they
deposit their belongings in the new club
house at American League Park in this
city After winding up either with the
Giants or Cardinals on Sunday. March
20, the Nationals take on the Waco club
March 80 and 81. They move on to
Wichita, Kan. April 1 and and play
the team of that city.
Kansas City team, April 8. and 8, the
latter date being Sunday, which, In this
western city is about equal in drawing
power to holiday in the east.
A big jump follows the Kansas City
games, as the Nationals are due In
Springfield. Ill, Monday, April s. Tues
day and Wednesday. April and 8, they
play the Indianapolis boys.
Thursday, April o.. the Nationals have
their first try against the Cincinnati
Reds, and the fur should fly, on account
of the rivalry between the two big
move on to Columbus and tackle the
champions of the American Association.
Two more good dates. and the final
ones, are Saturday and Sunday, April IL
AS Manager Gantillon is well known in
all the western cities named, the Nationals
will prove a big attraction.
leagues began playing ball in earnest
April IL. but 1t is now generally under
stood that the opening game this year will
not be played until April IA or possibly
'einying in Louisville April IL, the Ma
tihnalA should veach home. about noon of
thAS<s5th. which means that the local
peekAat their favorites until the regular
Seasoh of the American League opens.
CAIthopgh thjs may be disappointment,
tAe-stanch supporters of the Nationals
the team will be in first-class condition
on the opening day. and that 1t will be
worth tkeir while attending the initial
battl~with either the Bostons or New
1orks.
l During the six weeks Of practice and
exhibition games Manager Cantillon will
; have whipped his team into permanent
seape. everyeman having been given his
ytgular position, and there will be no ex-
periments after the opening gun has been
fired and the battle for supremacy has got
under full swing.
Last season Manager Cantillon had to
find out all about his team in the month
they were at Galveston, and even after
- had Uncovered the defects there was
n6cha1,e to strengthen. as all the avail
othr clubs. Next spring the situation
will be entirely different. He knows
everybody under contract to the WASH
ington club. and knows them all thor
oughly, and when the Nationals reach this
city April 13 there will be little surplus
ability laying around loose.
The trade last week Of Charley Jones
for Ollie Pickering created great deal
admitted that very little of it was IA
vorable to Manager Cantillon. Jones had
become a great favorite in Washington.
but the local fans can rest assured
that Sir Joseph knew very well what he
was pulling off when he made the trade.
With the departure of Charley Jones the
Washington fans have seen the last
of a certain class Of ball players who
have been in the local clubs pay roll
since the days of Jimmy Manning. This
class comprised men who went out of
their way to cultivate friendly relations
with Washington people, and were gen.
orally good mixers. In their place will
be men who come here to play ball and
who will have time for little else. They
are not good takers, care little for the
worship of the local fans" but are
made of the stuff from which winners
crop out.
From away back In the nineties the diff
ferent Washington clubs have had in great
numbers players of the sort the fans
liked to worship from afar and talk to
at every opportunity. Manager Cantil-
ION Is giving US a Qlnerent SOrt-men
who believe in showing their worth on
the field Of battle. and who. If not salts
factory. will drop back whence they
came. Washington has been carrying the
water bucket and target so long that the
local patrons of base ball are willing
to take another kind of club SO long
1t turns out a winner.
Manager Cantillon has signed a three
years contract with the Washington club
and the local fans agreed last year to
give him fair and square trial, all that
SIR Joseph. has asked for. He was GER
tainly up against IT. last season and
failed to make good In the matter of
getting the team out of last place. But
the Nationals looked like a very tidy"
aggregation last fall. and should they be
able to open the season at the gait they
quit in October there will be more than
a few who will sit up and have hopes.
Out west they have been having several
exciting games OF indoor base ball and the
boys have been picking up quite lot of
easy money. Dutch" Schaeffer is at the
head of the Chicago club; George Mullin
is running a Cleveland aggregation, and
Artie Hoffman of the Chicago Cubs is at
the head of the st. Louis team. The Chi
Cages visited St. Louis last week and
trimmed the team from the latter city two
games out of three. and this week Schaef-
fer takes his crowd to Cleveland.
The experiment Of indoor baseball has
been tried In Washington. but not with