The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-20
rHAT baseball is the national game
 as we'll as the national topic was .....a. ln44ar axa n, nlifiad than al

I"HAI baseball Is the nauonal gam, as we'll as the national topic wal x never better examplified than a
 the present writing.
 It was not so very long ago that ths
 first week of October witnessed the news paper diet of baseball ended. Football basketball and other winter sports ther , occupied the scriveners of the sporting changed.
 1 The Braves had just finished trouncinf l the Athletics and the fans settled dowr 1 for a rest from the frenzied baseball dope l of the hectic season when along comei industrious tabulators with the records
 of the various stars of the game. These statistical sharps managed to break into print every other day with long dreary lists of batting and fielding averages
 Then came the review of the experts or
 what might have happen if the Braves
 had not been managed by George Stall. | ings. Every day, too.
 In tho midst of the football season just when the fans should have been thinking of their favorite pigslSin player. Connie Mack, announced that he had requested
 waivers on Bender, Coombs ana Plank That particular news item knocked all the football, and, incidentally, what Con
 sress happened to be doing, out or the
 public mind More copy when the Fed eral league began to get busy.
 It is the Federal league that is mak- ing baseball copy so plentiful this win ter. It is now an assured thing that there will be no rest for the readers while James Gilmore, the high '.much-amuclS' of the Feds, and Ban Johnson, the "Czar''
 of the American league are on the job Those bucko's have reams of dope on tap At the present time Ban has the hot air valve wide open and interviews on the iniquity of the Federal league are more plentiful than the Germans around War saw.
 But prior to the vitriolic outburst of "Czar' Johnson, the Feds had really
 angered that rotund gentleman. The mlow that killed father was when Joe Tinker hypnotized Walter Johnson, the star fthe Washington club, to try to jump his contract and sign a Federal league contract at about million dollars Pci oii'oii' i'diis nun iihO siiehN oite proceeded to say so. However, the Wards and Charlie Weeghman gave the Ban the
 merry "ooze. In doing so they incidently attempted to steal the whole New York American league ball club. However, this bold piece of strategy failed and the Yankees were purchased by Jake Ruppert, a millionaire brewer who promised Ban. that he would be good and remain within the charmed circle of organized baseball. In buying the Yankees, Colonel Ruppert had his name and history spilled all over
 the sport sheets of the country, and over
 night he became as well as Woodrow Wilson. Our advice to fame aspirants who have oodles of dough Is to purchase a baseball club.
 The merry war of words goes on. It
 nelps to nn the sporting pages and ad- vertised baseball. One day it is Rube
 port that Rube could not jump as he
 was under binding contract with the
 Giants. Then it is announced that the
 Giants intended to release Rube anyhow, and did not care who he played with The
 same status obtains with Walter Johnson.
 He has signed a Federal league contract,
 but the Washington club announced most emphatically that it will enjoin the Chi
 feds from ever pitching the blond marvel.
 The feud over Johnson ought to provide dope for the space writers until the sea-
 sons opens. Then it will be noticed that
 Walter will be on the job pitching for
 Clark Griffith at Washington. Signing a
 Federal league contract is just like sign ing the pledge or making New Years res-
 olutions.
 Tn a successful bid for more publicity
 the American league through Connie Mack
 set the world agape by the sale of Eddie Collins, the peerless second saclker, to
 the White Sox. And just as the fans be-
 gan to think it was fixed up for Eddie to
 supplant Jimmie Callahan as pilot of the
 "hitless wonders Charlie Comiskey
 makes up his mind that Ban Johnson is
 not going to hog the publicity by announc-
 ing Clarence H. Rowland as his selection for manager. No one had ever heard of