Fergus County Democrat., 1915-04-22
SAYSLEAGUE|S IS
STILL ON PAPER
ANACONDA STANDARD THROWS
COLD WATER ON STATE
BASEBALL LEAGUE.
RAILROAD MILEAGE ONE DRAWBACK
Gives Lewistown Credit for Being the
Life Of the Proposed six-club Cir
cuit-Says Great Falls ls Hedging,
Helena Not Anxious, Butte Won't.

The state baseball league is having
hard shedding. In Great Falls the an
gels are finding that 1t is rather late
to start the league. Helena has done
nothing toward raising money for
club and the same is true Of Bozeman.
In Lewistown the fans seem to have
gone ahead just as they always do for
sport. In fact, it seems that the league
headquarters are In LeWistOWn, as all
the push comes from that bustling lit
tie city. Efforts are being made to get
the league going by having the cham
bers Of commerce in the various cities
back the clubs and guarantee the sal
aries, which are practically the same
as were paid when four Montana cities
were in the Union association. AS yet
there has been no proposal to include
Butte in the state paper league and no
one here seems to care much. All the
live fellows who put up for the game
in the past say they will let the sport
rest this year Apparently the state
league promoters are afraid to put
Butte in the league lest it blow up,
like the fiasco in 1914. So, II there is
a state league, Butte will not be in it..
A fan from Helena remarked yester-
day that the Capital city had had
enough of the baseball business for a
couple of years. 1t was struggle
there ever since John McCloskey in
duced the Helena live fellows to back
a club in the Union association. But
in those days William Lucas was alive,
and he could make baseball go where
others make failure of it.
The state league as proposed by Lew
istown would require lot of money. as
state leagues go. 1t is 1873 miles
from Great Falls to Bozeman and 234
miles from Great Falls to Billings. The
fare for IA men from Great Falls to
Billings would be approximately $3.50.
The league promoters propose that the
chambers of commerce in the various
cities guarantee the visiting teams a
stipulated amount irrespective of what
the receipts are. There are not to be
more than 12 players, but the manager
and checkers would bring the number
of travellers who must be taken care
of to IA. A salary limit of $1,000 a
month is proposed. The handicap OF
two or three weak sisters in the league
would be met. the promoters say, by
the policy of having everything in ex
Cess Vi tuc udlly cApcAScS VI luc SlSlI
ing team turned over to local treas
ury. In this way each city would gel
it's own earnings from the club. The
chamber of commerce in each city is
to pay salaries and expenses and han
die all receipts. In other words, eacl
manager would have as many bosses
as there are members of the chamber
of commerce When railroad fare ha:
been paid, the salaries met the parl
upkeep paid and other expenses ad
iusted, there probably will be a defici
if the league is formed. The difficult.
always met by state league promoter
is the distance between cities. In tn,
west 100 miles is long jump, but will
Great Falls. Helena, Lewistown, Boze
man and Billings in the league To-
miles would be short Jump.
Unless some of the other cities be
sides Lewistown and Billings spruc
up, the odds are long that Montana viii
be state with a league and withou
baseball in 1915.-Anaconda Standard