The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1910-10-28
HOWTORUN A BALL.
TEAM IN THE TOWN
OF BENNINGTON
Mr.. KnOwitaII Gives His Views
on Local Sport
WOULD NOT CHANGE SYSTEM
Requests Good Attendance at Public
Meeting Tonight and Vote Of
Thanks to Management

To the Editor of the Banner
The public meeting OF the Benning-
ton baseball association is to be held
lat Woodlands hall this evening. One
of the admirable features Of the great
American sport is the fact that every
man, woman and child in this broad
land who takes an interest in the
sport is positively convinced that
they know as much about the game
las the managers of the big league
teams. 1t is this harmless conceit
chat makes the game he greatest out
idoor sport ever devised by mortal
man. This is the excuse that | offer
for presuming to ask for a small
amount of space in your valuable
paper in which to state a few of my
views as to how baseball should be
run in Bennington. Some OF the
fans will perhaps suggest that my
l nerve is pretty husky, but If could
pin down one of them for a brief,
quiet chat he wouldn't be talking five
minutes before he would be telling
me just what ought to be done to
make the season of 1911 one big,
bowling success like that Of 1909 and
1908. So you see, we are all alike
on the baseball question. Our hearts
are in the game, we are ready to
root for Bennington first, last and all
the time, but we have got to have at
least one finger in the pie in order to
be satisfied.
To begin with it is my opinion that
the baseball season OF 1911 should be
conducted along lines similar to the
plans pursued last year. The associ-
alton plan with a board of directors
who are given the power to select the
manager is, in my opinion, the only
method by which a town no larger
than Bennington can maintain sal
aried team. To attempt to make
baseball in Bennington a stock com
pany proposition would land us in
deeper holes than were ever dug In
North Adams and that would be go
ing some. Baseball in Bennington
has prospered for the reason that the
public has realized that the game wal
being conducted for its benefit anC
for no one else. Every person who
attended the games could say tha
the Bennington baseball team wa
his team; the 20 cents paid at tn,
gate put him on a level with every
one else. Once II shall become
known that the Bennington baseball
. team is being run In the interests 0
any one person or set of men 1t will
be time to throw up the sponge.
regret that in order to carry oil
baseball here in the only way that /
: can be carried on 1t becomes neces
sary for us to ask manager and
board Of directors to give us so nue.
Of their services without paying then
salaries. Manager Higgins and tn
energetic young men who have bee
with him have conferred a favor VI
on the baseball public that the pee
pie can never repay. It is unforu
nate that conditions are such as the
are, but no quicker method to XII
baseball in Bennington could be de-
i. vised than to put the sport In charg
Of a salaried board of directors an
paid manager. AS a community W
have to ask considerable OF our d
rectors and manager. The only wa
in which We can partially cancel I'll
debt Of obligation is turn out in goo
force tonight and give them a roui
ing vote OF thanks.
J. c. Knowitall.