The Alaska citizen. (Fairbanks, Alaska) 1910-1917, 1911-08-21
BY Otto fIoto.


refreshing to note that there are
some wearers Of the cloth with goth
century ideas 1t makes him stand
forth as a progressive minister OF
the gospel. who has cast aside the
blue laws of a hundred years ago
and patterns his sermons on the
present needs of humanity and civil
lization And while DR.. Baker stands
forth as the bright sun in the hea-
vens by the stand he has taken,
there are thousands of pettifogie
zealots denouncing the fact that our
national pastime is played on the
day designated as the day of rest.
If. as these people say. it is wrong
to play baseball on Sunday. then
let's indorse the lesser of greater
evils. for it will be impossible to
put a stop to the sport.
What if they had Sunday baseball
in New York city? Would the hun
dred thousand and sometimes a
quarter of million people go to
Coney Island or other seaside re-
sorts and indulge in the evils there
and be shared into all sorts of temp
tations? Not on your life. Many Of
these folks would be at the ball
game where proper police protection
is afforded. and where no gambling
or intoxicating liquors are tolerated.
Which would be best for them. Coney
Island or the Polo Grounds?
And yet this same class of people
who are making the most strenuous
forts of their life to place ban
on Sunday baseball are the ones that
are driving the fans into diSreputable
resorts. causing sorrow and woe that
could be avoided by attending ball
games. The element antagonistic to
the sport say that the ball games
reduce attendance at church. Maybe
so. and then again maybe not. Would
it not be better to sort of comprom-
Use with the baseball management
and have them play their games be-
tween hours not devoted to worship
at church This could all be brought
about and the baseball element would
form themselves into a boosting com
mittee to see that the churches en-
joyed greater attendance than they
do now.
DR.. Baker in his sermon last Sun
day in San Francisco entreated his
congregation to attend the game af-
ter services. 1T will do YOU good,
he said; 1T will act as an after
tonic to any good sermon you may
have heard in the morning; good
sermons. and good, clean ball
games make the world all the bet
ter for you and me-
Talk about landing solar plexus
on that aggregation of narrow mind
ed reformers who, because they can
not enjoy baseball or other sports,
wish to deprive their fellowmen of
the pleasure well. it's clean knock
out.
Now let's have more of the Rev.
Baker type of minister. Let's have
men that are men and can see the
good, clean things in life, and adj
wise their followers to do likewise
1t will make far happier nation, to
say the least Let them lay aside
their antagonism TO Sunday baseball
and pugilism for while and turn
their attention to the manner in
which polygamy is being practiced
in Utah at this time. That's a far
greater evil than all the Sunday
baseball and all the pugilism that
has taken place in hundred years.
Rumor comes from Nebraska that
they have a middleweight there that
promises to rival Billy Papke for
the middleweight honors. This young
ster's name is Billy Uvick. Not a
well taken name for a fighter but in
this case the chap can make good
He is known as the Nebraska Thun-
derbolt," and so far no one has man
aged to stop his progress to the top
have letter from we'll known news
papermen of Omaha who claims that if
given an opportunity Uvick will more
than make good against any of them
If he is as good as they say he
is they should hasten to New York
where the game is about to open
and where plenty of opportunities
await him.
"Johnson's wife dictates who he
shall and who he shall not fight
That is what Barney Furey told a
party of Chicago friends the other
day. Il have been with Johnson in
all his fights know more about
him than anyone else. and want to
say that Sam Langford is the only
man that can beat him"
That may be the opinion of Furey
but it looks bad for a fellow, just
because he has had falling out
with former employe. to turn on
him. The are many who believe
however, the same way that Furey
does, that Langford alone of all the
fighters has chance against the
man now in London helping crown
the king
Talk about Ty Cobb's value to a
team. he gave another illustration
Of it in the game with ST. Louis. The
Detroits were beaten to in the
eighth inning. when. with a man on
third and another one on first. Ty
came to the rescue and cinched the
game when he poled one for three
sacks to center field and scored the
two men ahead of him. He then
scored on a long fly by Crawford. 1t
again makes us ask the question,
Where would Detroit be in the race
if ever they lost Tyrus Raymond
Cobb"
AMERICAS NATIONAL GAME
FLOURlSHiNG IN MEXICO
Ell PASO, Tex. July 3. Base
ball in Mexico is fiOurishing this