Evening star., 1914-04-24
Watches Johnson From Texas
} WaIIop Johnson of the
Climbers. (.
GAME is FOUND LACKING i
IN USUAL SHARP SHRIEKS
Eighteen Thousand Men and Women
Cheer Presentation of Floral Horse
shoe and Tossing Of Ball.

Taking it by and large. it was a sober
base ball crowd that watched that young
fellow johnson from Texas wallop that
other young fellow Johnson Of the
Climbers in the opener yesterday May
hap it was the effect of war news upon
the 5000 men and women mayhap It
was the large amount of blue in the
feminine millinery in the agrandstand
mayhap it was the slight chill in the air:
mayhap it was the depressing score. AT
any rate. there was a lack Of the short.
sharp shrek of triumph which generally
marks the initial game of the American
League season in this city.
The clans gathered early, as they al
,, ways do. There We're the hordes of
peanut men. and a skirinish line of fell
lows with tickets to sell at advanced
prices. A strong provost guard of po-
licemen was thrown up and down and
ball yard. and inside the great inclosure
a hard-working band thumped and blew
in an evident effort to present at least
a section of every piece of music that
has been written since Francis Scott
Key wrote THE Star Spangled Banner
thereby furnishing theme for every
musical comedy presented since the
American flag took the place of merit
on the stage. The band. be it known.
of the day. as on several occasions fierce
I'foul balls curved piciously toward the
bass drum and the large mouth of the
bass horn.
Roar of Genuine Fellowship.
1t was roar Of genuine good fellow
ship and friendship which greeted the
clean-whte-uniformed Washington team
rs it galloped out on the green and be-
gan to hurl base balls madly at one an
other Fans who have been existing on
the winter fodder from the stove
league began to come to life like some
thing which had been alternating in the
mud since last season. and the old-timers
gave the team a hurried ''once over
glance to see what form the favorites
possessed. Nick Altrock and Germany
Schaefer started their funny business.
had to laugh.
At the proper moment Cuno II. Ru-
dolph. with the quiZzical smile which dis
tinguishes his visage from all others,
stalked majesticaly from his private
box and stepped down to the level of the
players. where he presented Clark Grif-
fifth and the team an enormous horseshoe
made Of white flowers. with floral nails
made of red posies, the gift coming from
the Board of Trade. Manager Griffith is
a member of the board. AS a horseshoe
it was about the biggest thing ever seen.
Nearly any horse ever built could walk
under it and never touch an ear Clark
Griffith blushed, took off his hat and said
a few words of thanks. and the team
shook hands with him, while the crowd
cheered.
Clark Tosses Out First Ball.
Speaker Clark. in box draped with
an American flag. attracted lot of at
tention as he arose to toss out the first
ball. He broke open the box. unwrapped
the sphere and then hurled it underhand-
old Missouri town ball style-to Walter
Johnson. who fielded the ball with per-
feet form and trotted out to what the
sporting writer's call 1.-THE mound" or
pitchers box in fairly ordinary English
The crowd yelled again, and the hard
working band played a Stars and Stripes
piece of music, winding up with Dixie"
and the game was on.
James NJ. Baker. secretary of the
Senate, occupied box. He had as his
guests Assistant Secretary Osborne of
the State Department, Senator johnson.
Assistant Postmaster General Roper,
Col. Charles p. Higgins, sergeant-at-
arms of the Senate: Clifford X. Berry
man, Mark Thistlethwaite, A c. Clap
ham and Lawrence A. Baker.