Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-18
OFFICIALS ACT PROMPTLY
Make Plans for Steel and Concrete
Stands at American League Park.
DISCUSSES OTHER SUGGESTIONS
Proposition to Arrange Temporary
Seats Also Taken Under Ad-
visement by Board.


That is the result OF meeting Of the
board of directors of the Washington
Base Ball Club yesterday afternoon.
To make this promise the officials Of
the club started working the wheels Of
the construction world in a manner which
promises well for the comfort of base ball
fans this coming season. Before the fire
at the park was out, steel men, architects.
experts and contractors had been COM
municated with. AS quick as the fire
was, just as quick were the directors OF
the club in grasping the situation and
getting to work to start a tremendous
new concrete and steel stand. which
eventually will be of the double deck
type: but the main endeavor and the
greatest stress was concentrated to an
swer affirmatively the Washington fans
question:
'Will they be able to open on April 12?"
Even while the men of the fire depart
ment were battling with the flames at
American League Park officials Of the
club we're at work in all directions. They
were telegraphing, telephOning and writ
ing for experts in steel, architects, sup
pliers of structural iron and contractors
for temporary seats in q gigantic effort
to give Washington base ball fans a
stand from which they can watch the
opening game April II.
Board Of Directors Meets.
Thomas c. Noyes, president Of the club.
arrived in the city from Atlanta about
II o'clock yesterday. He went to the
fire. Later he called meeting of the
board Of directors of the club. At that
meeting there were present, in addition
to Mr.. Noyes, Ben Minor, E. j. Walsh, III.
P. Blair, j. Miller Kenyon and Rudolph
Kaufman. This comprised the entire
board, with the exception of W. H. Rap
ley.
Mr.. Rapley by an odd coincidence hap
pened to be in the Chicago Office of Presi-
dent Ban Johnson of the American
League. just as Mr.. johnson received a
telegram from President Noyes Of the
Washington club with story of the loss
at the base ball park. Mr.. Rapley will
leave Chicago tonight with President
Johnson. whose presence here will be of
great help to the Washington club OFF,
cials if any shifting Of dates must take
place.
BY night the first steps OF one OF the
biggest pieces of construction work the
city will have seen were all started in
good shape. An engineer and architect
had been wired for the message going to
the Osborne Construction Company Of
Cleveland. The club asked for a man who
could grasp situation quickly and who
would be competent to advise on the de-
tails Of an enormous concrete and steel
stand which will be put up in place Of
the old wooden one.
James Baird, vice president Of the
George A. Fuller Construction Company.
was called into consultation with the club
directors. To Mr.. Baird was put up the
proposition of how to build an enormous
much larger than the de-
stroyed wooden one. and get IT up by
working every minute Of the day and
night, so as to be ready for the April II
game.
No Trouble, Mr.. Baird Thinks.
Mr.. Baird was of the opinion that the
steel market is in such shape at present
that there would be no trouble in getting
material from the manufacturers. he
also advised getting all the experts pos
sible to work on the preliminaries. This
is necessary, he explained, because every
foot of the stand, every beam and every
strip has to be planned out and drawn
and provided for on paper by the engi-
neers and architects before single ladie
of hot steel can be poured into the molds
at the steel plants.
The first great rush work, therefore, is
the planning. 1t will be necessary to
plan with cool heads and hands, SO tnat
not a second will be lost in recalculating.
The club officials were in fairly con-
tented state of mind as regards the
chances for the opening game after the
practical talk from Mr.. Baird.
One more link needed to be filled out
before the first details were complete.
That was the matter Of temporary seats
AS the proposition for new stand ap-
pears now, the steel work Will begin on
the tip end of what will be the left field
mil 6<xxyY of "a iUh
to about the third base, and from there
the stand will swing around behind the
home plate and go out again back OF nrst
base.
AS there are left fairly unscathed by
the flames the tip ends Of the right field
seats, capable OF holding perhaps 900
people, the work will start a left field.
May Erect Temporary Seats.
If by April 12 there are not enough
seats ready in the center or grandstand
section, it is the present purpose Of the
club officials to arrange for temporary
seats from western firm, who supplied
such an arena during q recent aviation
meet in Baltimore.
To find this manufacturer was one Of
the problems at yesterdays meeting. One
of the officials called Col. Jerome H.
Joyce Of the Baltimore Aero Club on the
long distance telephone, and found out
that the western firm would probably be
able to put up temporary seats comfort
able and strong enough for any emer-
gency.
In that way every gap was closed up.
The architects. expert engineers. con-
structiOn men and steel manufacturers, as
well as temporary seat men, have all been
with. Today actual work
is being started to get the seats up. 1t
will be one of the fastest. snappiest and
cleverest pieces of steel construction
work ever seen here, il the promise Of
the experts holds good.
There will be a change in the playing
field AS the infield stands trampled into
a muddy lake today, it would seem i'm
possible to play bali on it for whole sea-
son. Those who know say differently.
To CON form to the chaneed ,randSf nd