Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-19
NOTHING TOO GOOD
FOR BIG LEAGUERS
Magnates Spend Immense
Sum for Comfort of the
Ball Players.

CLEVELAND, Ohio, December ls.-
Nothing, 10 100 good for the bail players
OF the present age and generation.
One of the essential features Of an
up-to-date and high-class base ball club
Is the comfort OF the men who work on
the diamond for which the owners must
provide
Millionaires receive no greater courte-
sizes nor travel In more style than a bare
ball club. The players OF today ride in
their own special car on the limited
trains, stop at the best hotels and ride to
and from the grounds in automobiles or
carriages.
Yes, base ball has advanced wonder
fully In the last fifteen years, and the
club owners have been forced to keen up
Win tne times few years ago base ball
did not draw the class OF people to the
games that II does today And realizing
that comfort Is one of the greatest things
Dali tosser needs, he is given little
cnance TO grumble- Yet. there are some
players who find fault, but, OF course
they are not paying the bills
Inc expense of carrying q ball team
around the country from the start of tho
spring training trip In February TO Oc-
tober . or 10. is no little item. with
railroad rare. special cars. hotel bills and
other incidentals. 1t can be roughly esti-
mated that the Cleveland club paid out
fully $4,000 last season in this manner.
ana YET the team made a sorry showing
The Cleveland club trained at Mobile
and New Orleans last spring and basked
In the sunshine for six weeks before
starting north. This was a trip that
proved mighty expensive to the club
did not deliver. This is only one of the
many disappointments with which a club
owner must contend. While the fans NAV
be snarling about the poor work OF the
team. taking the owners to task and
doing everything I'm their over to create
discomfort, it is the club owner the man
who dishes up the money. that has to
| stand for all the adverslties and look
| on the bright side of life. He must
always look to the future, for base ball.
| like time. waits for no man.
And that Is just what the Cleveland
Club officials have been doing They met
many reverses the past season. but with
renewed energy they have mapped out
their plans for the season of 1910. The
team will train at Alexandra, La No
| one In the north ever heard of this town
In the northwestern part Of Louisiana
until Business Manager e. 8. Barnard
made trip there. In fact, Barnard was
skeptical about making the trip when he
realized that Pass Christian was out OF
the question. But he took the ride from
New Orleans for Alexandria with the ex-
pectation OF seeing q small town and
poor hotel accommodations. He found
| the toWn was small all right, but when he
gazed on the Hotel Bentley II did not
take him long to make up his mind where
| the team would train in the spring.
He wrote to Manager Mcclure and told
| OF the place and 1t was accepted The
Hotel Bentley, where the Maps will stop
from February II until March 10, is con-
sidered the finest hotel In the south
Many wonder why such a beautiful hotel
was built I'm such a small town. The
history OF II is interesting. J. A. Bentley,
the owner, happened to go to Alexandria
one day and was dissatisfied with the no.
tel accommodations. He made a vigor-
Gus kick, and told the citizens that he
would build a hotel that would please
every one. Hence the one-million-doliar
"spite hotel" which Is considered without
an equal way down SOUTH That ia
saying something when 1t is known thai
| New Orleans and Atlanta can boast Of
real metropolitan hotels. And these are
large towns, while Alexandria has pop
| ulation of close to 5000.
| No one in Cleveland would have heard
of the Hotel Bentley or Alexandria. La.
but for Barnard's trip, and now II Will
| receive national prominence, The hotel.
was not the only thing that made de-
cided hit with Barnard. He found thai
the place was we'll adapted for ball
player, even though there are few places
| Of amusement. A ball player delights
| in fishing and hunting and at Alexandria
he can enjoy himself to his hearts con-
tent after the irksome work OF the day
! Is over.