The Washington times., 1913-01-05
No Easy Thing Conducting
Business Arrangements
of a Club.
By SENATOR"

There's one end of the baseball bust
| ness little understood by the fans, th'
| players or the general public, and yet
| It is most important. 1t is followed by
| some of the bert of good fellows evel
found anywhere. They do much toward
adding to the comfort of the players
during the season and their reports (ac.
companied by checks) do much toward
making the magnates sleep wei
o. nights They are the secretaries OF
the club. the men who travel around the
land with the noble young athletes.
Hello. Sec," is generally the greeting
given to the secretary by the player.
Hello. Ref is another, used by the
Climbers when they stick out their
hands TO Billy Fowler. one of the king
pins of the secretary membership. And
these secretaries are always popular,
too, with the players. Why wouldn't
they be too. when most of them are
good fellows?
It's lot of work. too, these secre-
taries do In the course OF season.
They travel with the teams, look after
the material welfare Of the men at the
hotels and on the trains and are par
ticularly handy when any young ath-
lete losses his all in the kitty
What They Do.
It's no small task, rushing a baseball
team around the circuit in the big
show. Railroad accommodations must
be obtained. hotel rooms hired, all
kinds of bills paid, pass gates at the
various parks at least glanced over and
a thousand and one details arranged
every day. Yes, the secretary goes to
bed tired out every night, and generally
diamond have been safely tucked away
under the covers.
Say, for instance, the Climbers are
going to Philadelphia, Boston. and then
around the frontier of the league. Billy
Fowler has to arrange for the special
and has to wire for reservations at the
hotel there. once in Sleeptown he races
downtown to the railroad offices, where
he arranges for the next jump to Bos-
ton.
At the ball park he gets the count of
the attendance, paid attendance. that
is. each day and on the final afternoon
he receives his clubs share Of the re-
ceipts. This is generally In large
check. He looks over the account as
back his report 10 the home office.
rays All the b1ilS.
The secretary pays all the bills, and
he has to keep a sharp eye out lest
some player put something over on
him. The hotel bill is gone through
with a rapid but eagle eye. and all
private expenses incurred by individual
players are put back to them. Said off
hand, this seems easy, but ask Billy
Fowler about some Of the players who
have been with the Washington club.
OF course, he has already wired the
hotel in Boston for reservations. on
arrival, he Is informed that a big con-
vention is reing held under the shadow
Of the sacreo Goldfish, and that the play
ers will have to go three to a room.
Here the secretary's troubles begin IN
The players usually team I'D with
some regular partner, and this arrange
ment demanded calls for a shuffling of
the cards. OF course, the players blame
the secretary as a matter Of form. He
just grins. and, when they become too
peevish, bawls them on his own ac-
count. In this he is always backed up
by the manager. who has been through
the whole game himself.
Now For Trouble. !
A doubleheader is billed for the last
day and now the secretary's troubles
begin in earnest. II the team can get |
away at a certain time. a certain train !