Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-08-05
ZENITH NEAR
Professional Base Ball Has
Reached Top of Popularity.
ST.L0UIS CRITIC HAS VIEWS
Gives It as Opinion That Big
Leagues Have Seen Their
Most Profitable Days.

81. LOUIS. August 5.-Ihere De I'M
| mistakable indications that professional
base ball has reached the zenith of its
popularity with Americans, and that an
ebb-tide day is due for the club owners
who have been making huge fortunes
every season. 1t is the feeling of l. E.
Sanborn, base ball editor of the Chicago
Tribune. and of Charles Dryden Of the
Chicago Americans, two men who are
always with base ball team at home or
travelling, that professional base ball has
seen its greatest need of popularity and
that 1t is due for a very substantial, if
gradual, decline.
Messrs. Sanborn and Dryden attribute
the recent immoHerate popularity of pro-
fessional base ball to two reasons, decay
of horse racing and the inordinate and
| unreasonable amount of publicity and ex-
ploitation given base ball by the press. It
is the opinion of these wise men, who are
of ripe and balanced judgment, that the
press has gone to extremes in developing
and fostering a taste and appetite for
base ball news and that the clearer see
ing base ball reporters themselves, as
we'll as the men higher up in newspaper
management, have come to the conclusion
that they have been forcing base ball
news to the front in manner not at all
warranted by its Importance. That, in
the near future. there will be great
restriction of the space and prominence
given to professional base ball news by
the press is the opinion of Messrs. San
born and Dryden. men who are paid the
highest salaries of any in the profession
of writing base ball for newspapers.
Base Ball Has Been overdone.
Many base ball writers who can see
more than one thing at time agree
with Messrs. Sanborn and Dryden. 1t is
the opinion of the best writer's Of the
game that it has been overwrttcn, over
exploited and overadyertised that peo-
pie have been exploited into going to
base ball games and into reading base
ball news when they really did not want
to do either. and that the only benefcla-
ries from all this have been the proprie-
| tors of professional base ball clubs
Supporters Of base ball argue that 1t IS
a harmless amusement. With this every
one will agree. But that going to see
l'base ball games played by hired profess
SIGNALS is as beneficial to Americans as
playing ball themselves or even going
out and looking at a, boys game or an
amateur game on the lot has not been
proven.
1t is a feeling of students of sociology
that the less Americans patroniZe the
professional sports and the more they
play themselves the better it will be for
the race. f1eHce lilc teuueICS VI TIC
vanced journals and magazines is to lead
the individual away from the profess
sional base ball park to the open lot and
from the professional prize ring to the
private room, where he can box instead
of looking at others box.
That men should, in moderation, prac-
tice the custom of going to see the great
opponents of base ball play the game is
deemed advantageous. BY seeing the
great masters work the amateurs and the
tox. ~
best played. That, however, men and
boys shall neglect playing themselves
and instead. hire professionals to play
and take exercise for them is deemed I'M
sound sociology.
Thus it is that the tendency of the
American to take the exercise himself
instead of hiring men to take 1t for him
will. it is expected, to great extent de-
tract from the present opulence OF pro-
fessional base ball. With games on every
open lot and in the parks and with sew
eral spectators interested in each, 1t is
felt that there will be very large and
general opposition to the present monop-
oily enjoyed by the great clubs of the big
| leagues.
Newspapers Lean to Amateurism.
There is growing tendency on the
part of the newspapers to lend favor to
the professional and amateur clubs.
1t seems. too. that there Is bound to be
a tremendous advance in the base ball
play Of boys under sixteen. Steps are be-
ing taken to popularize base ball for
young boys, to provide Fairgrounds for
their games, and all along the line is
movement to stimulate playing the game
rather than looking at 1t and reading
about it.
Of course. professional base ball will not
die, and it may be established on safer
basis, but that it will continue to return
the immense dividends 1t has paid in the
past five years is highly improbable
American League Losing Supporters.
Another peculiar thing about the status