Evening journal., 1913-04-22
ny wn.LIAM PHILIP sIMMs.

BY WILLIAM PHILIP SIMMS.
paris correspondent of the United
Press.)
PARIS, April 22.-Americas natioa-
al game Of baseball has at last found
root in France, and several teams ars
out for practice in and around Paris.
One of the most prominent sporting
clubs in France, the Racing Club.
with important grounds IN the Bois de
Boulogne, Colombes. and elsewhere.
has taken a great liking to the ball
and bat, and the famous Bois is re-
sounding with the queerest cries IL
ever heard
Slide, monsieur. slide" "A bas
Tumpire Keel inn" Fool ball" foul
is pronounced fool" in Frenchl
These and all sorts of other express
sions hitherto known only to the
Yankee fan, have been added to the
French youths vocabulary, for he, in
his study of the game, has disdained
French equivalents, and IS graphing
with the Americanisms which often
put both his shoulders to the mat.
During the summer the first attempt
10 form an amateur league" will be
made. and as soon as this Is accom-
plished the public will be asked to
witness the important clashes.
T. r. Roosevelt and NJ H. Burgess.
American men in business here. orig.
mated the idea. They translated, and
condensed into as simple a form as
possible. the rules of the game, ana
gave copies to students of the Con-
dorcet College, which is near Bur-
CESS Office Little by little enthusi-
asm was worked up until the young
sters in nearly every school in Paris
had caught the bug
Then other Americans volunteered
their services as coaches. Tod Sloan,
the famous jockey. organized a team
at the Maison-Laffltte training stables,
the members of his team being mix
ture of French, English and Ameri-
can stable boys. Valentine Flood,
formerly Princeton University
coach, has staked on ball ground
on the Racing Clubs grounds az
Colombes. and is giving his services
to teams playing there. The aristo
cratic Polo Club in the Bois has per
mitted another ball park to be alio
out on the polo field, and il looks as
If Paris is to have a polo grounds
as we'll as New York American art
lists are mixing in, and the Latin
/ Quarter Is wearing a deserted look
these spring days. Cafe proprietors
are beginning to be alarmed lest the
sport Ofzsitting on their terraces and
drinking queer drinks be f0rsaken for
impomptu basball parties
1T is amusing to watc hthe French
boys throw from the outfeld. and
pitch They can bat astonishingly
we'll, but they throw like girls II
requires the centerfielder. shortstop
second baseman and pitcher to get a
long drive to center back home, and
when each man muffs the ball ano
has to scramble for II before he can
pass Il on, the batter has ample time
I for about three tours of the bases.
And when a pitcher hits a batter. the
game stops for a time. while apollo
gies are made. Then, too. French
man does so hate and perfectly
loathe to soil his colthing or even
to disarrange It, Also, the average
Frenchman. though famous for his
bravery, when facing cannon or mus.
kerry fire. is-well, he shrinks from
taking a chance on barking his shins.
scratching his hand. or turning a
charley horse, and il can be imagined
how ludrlcous could be a game of
baseball IN which thought OF these
minor matters we're put ahead on
thoughts of the long end of a score.
Such conditions do not make well for
speed, and in several games played
about Paris the ball had to be knock
| ed a mile for the man to beat even
| the frenzied throw of the Partisan
| infiQlder or short Outfielder tn the
bag. In other words. there's no such