The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-05-01
FROM OTHER PENS
CONGRESS- AND BAsEBALI.

The high cost of baseball, or more
specifically the high cost of Ty Cobb,
has melted congress to inquire If there
is a baseball trust" Representative
Gallagher proposes an exhaustive in
vestigation of the most audaciouS
and autocratic trust in the country"
that 'trafficks in the national pestime
for pecuniary GAIN" ct cetera.
We grant that baseball is one of the
necessaries of life, but we cannot per-
ceive the trust therein within the pur-
view of the Sherman law. How can
there be a monopoly in something
which every man and boy can supply
for himself? There is certainly no
monopoly of talent. Every tree and
hamlet offers proud demonstration of
that great truth. There can no more
be a trust in baseball than in farm
wagons, which every country town and
crossroads can make for itself If it
wants to. Furthermore the Mammoth
Springs, Ark, and Protein, Taney
county, Mo-, teams are as well worth
watching as the Boston Bean Eaters
and Chicago Cubs. There is more hu-
man interest and more heart-to-heart
baseball on the average vacant lot
than in the Polo grounds or Sports
mans park. And certainly there can
be no monopoly on spectators. Any
two ball teams anywhere in the known
and visible universe can get a large
audience in short order any old time.
Thank Heaven there are several
other good things which no man or
aggregation of men can monopoliZe or
control! They cant monopolize fid-
scratching, penuchle, hair-cutting,
pipe smoking, golf, gossip, gardening,
fishing, loafing, laughing, snoring,
keeping dog. teeth pulling, bone
setting, whistling, whiting, growing
whiskers, sneezing, whitewashing
fences, painting pictures, picking flow
ers, wool-gathering, star-gazing, writ
ing poetry, falling in love, signing,
oh Vfraev eyi,, art1f ~
and eternal salvation.-St. Louis Post
Dispatch.
ABUSE OF THE FRANK.
The Introduction of a bill in con-
gress to make 1t unlawful to abuse
the ranking privilege causes a re-
vival of popular antipathy against the
frank as a whole. This is due to mis-
understanding. In it's proper use the
frank is all right and is necessary. It
enables members of congress to use
the mails in the performance of their
official duties without cost to them
selves, but it never was intended that
it should be used for private purposes.
The abuse lies in taking unfair adj
vantages of a legitimate privilege, and
congress will be justified in drawing
the line a little closer.
The attention of the department was
called recently to a case in this state
in which large quantities of political
matter had been forwarded through
the mails over the signature of con-
gresham without his knowledge or
consent. This is an infraction of the
law that is amenable to punishment.
The investigation, however, revealed
so wide a variety of abuses that 1t has
been deemed wise to strengthen the
restrictions. If this be done it may
be possible to confine the frank to the
purpose for which it was intended.
1t would be wrong to require con-
gressmen or other officials to pay post
age out of their own pockets on the
public business. and 1t is equally
wrong for the government to provide
free mail service for private pur-
poses For this reason safeguards
should be provided.-Pittsburg Post.