Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-04-04
SUNNY SOUTH is NOT SUNNY
Menke Makes Trip to The Training
Camps and Discovers Ball Play.
ers' Lot Not Easy One.
HOTELS BAD, COOKING WORSE

ny FRANK g. MENKE.
Don't envy the ball player because he
fingers In the south for a month or 20
each spring II sounds like a picnic for
him-but Il isn't
The sunny south" in March Il sunny
enough, but the sun seems TO lack heat
In that swing we recently made from
Texas across the Florida and then up TO
North Carolina. we found only one day
In which an overcoat wasn't necessity.
The weather In the south during last
March Is the representative weather for
March In the south That's what the ma
tiyes told us. That being the case it
seems that the base ballers might boil
out better in the north because IN March
there are more warmer days in the north
crn cities than we struck IN the three
weeks in tho sunny south"
Only few OF the southern hotels are
fully equipped with steam heat and on
nights when the Thermometer shoots
down around S5 and 40 the occupants OF
the nonheatable rooms feel the cold
keenly. Their rooms. except when under
blankets. are uninhabitable.
But that TENT all that the athletics
have to put up with. A change in cook
cry lis another factor that makes their
lot IN the spring-time unenviabie. Some
Of the southern hotels use q preparation
made from cotton seed OIL for cooking.
which doent agree with the digestive APP
paratus Of the northerner
Some OF the larger hotels in the south
have excellent cooia Some of the smaller
ones haven't
In The south the American plan pre-
IL. -.
somewhat limited-and not up to the
northern standard.
sunday Hard ON Athletes.
The training camp ball player deserves
genuine sympathy, for their lot on Sun
day in the small southern towns Every
thing-except the churches--is closed
tighter than drum. Even the movie
shows do not operate and the players
Is hard put TO amuse himself on the first
day Of the week.
At one of the camps we visited we dis
covered that some OF tho ball players
were going 10 church three times on
Sunday. Startling, isn't H. The players
went 20 church so often not because they
are extremely religious, but mere because
church attendance made a change in the
dreary Tnonotony OF chatting amonp
themselves on the street corner or doine
the same thing around the open grate
fire In the hotel Hobbies.
cards2 Yes. the players indulRe-bu,
not as often AZ in other years One u
two games a weelx--that's about ali the,
care for. Even card playing pals.
or course. there are some camps wherI
the Sunday blue laws are not so rigid,
1 q ~ farsrn1 pa
In the south they've become almost a
strict concerning the proper Observance,
OF the sabbath as they are in New Eng
land.
Some OF the camps are located nea
some lakes that tenn with fish.
some Go Ffshsnw.
The angIcr-baii players spend sunda,
In fishing--if the law doesn't prevent t.
Another form OF diversion is coon an
| poHHum hunting. That Is done at night
Saturday night Is about tho only nigh
Tor hunting because the hunters rarel
return until between midnight and I
m, and the managers won't LEI theI
men hunt II they have training work /
doeha next day.
To spend month In the south ''unde
the warm sunshine In a balmy climate.
That sounds good. But that listens INK
tho talk OF aouthland's press agent. w
swung from Texas through Louisiana
Mississippi, Alabama. Georgia, Mort
Carolina, South Carolina and Florfds
And we're most awfulIy glad that "
took along our winter toys. We needle
them. although we visited the south dun
ing the raonth that the south claim
brings to Il the very incest weather Z
the year.