Evening star., 1918-03-29
GRIFF HAS HOPES TIATRICE
MAY RETURN TO THE SENATORS
Outfelder Goes Home to Ask Draft Board
for An Extension on Account of
Having Served in Navy.
BY DENMAN THOMPSON.

BY DENMAN THOMPSON.
AUGUSTA. March os.-Clark Griffith
has not abandoned hope that Sam Rice
will be able to play for the Nationals
this year, Notwithstanding the out
fielder has been notified that he will be
ordered to report for military service
between April 5 and 8, as exclusively
announced in The Star yesterday.
Although having no disposition to
seek exemption or evade service. Rice
! believes that owing to the year and
seven months Of service he saw in the
United States Navy and to the fact that
he was drilled daily last summer by
Sergt Dean of the Regular Army he is
entitled to an extension of time for re-
porting.
Rice boarded a train at noon today for
Watseka. ILL.,. his home town. where he
will arrive Sunday.
Monday he will interview the officers
of his local draft board and request an
extension Of time for reporting. He be-
lieves he has bonaffde grounds for re-
1 questing the extension in that through
the military experience he has had he
already has the training that 1t will
take green recruits three or four
months to acquire. If the local board
sees fit to grant his request in view of
| the facts in the case, Rice will re-
join the Griffmen and play with them
until he is required to enter the Army.
| II turned down by the local board
Sam plans to accept an offer that has
been made to him to enter the United
States Army machinists' school at Peo-
! ria, ILL.,. take two-month course there
! and then be assigned to the staff corps
! of the aero squadron.
When in the Navy Rice did duty al
| most exclusively in the machine shops,
| and since leaving the service and en-
| tering base ball has spent his of sea
! sons driving autos and working in
garages where he repaired motors
| With the course at the Peoria school,
| where he could perfect himself in the
lathe work, he could qualify as a ma
| rfne engine expert, as he already is we'll
versed in all branches of assembling.
| Whether Rice takes the machinists'
infantry service he undoubtedly will be
sent to Camp Dodge, near Des Moines
Iowa. as this is the cantonment where
| selectives from Illinois as we'll as Min
nesota. Wisconsin and the. two Dakotas
are trained.
In anticipation of the likelihood that
| Rice will be lost to the Nationals Man
ager Griffith already has set wheels in
motion to obtain another outfelder.
| Merito Acosta. who was sold to the At
lanta club of the Southern Association
contingent upon waivers being obtained,
probably will again be seen In Wash
| ington uniform. A club in the Ameri-
can Association refused to waive on
him SO Grin has withdrawn requests
for waivers on the diminutive garden
| er, who thus reverts to the Washington
club. Acosta refused to sign the con-
tract Griffith sent him last winter. The
manager now has drawn up q new
document, stipulating better terms and
has cabled to him at his home at
! Havana, Cuba. to report to the club
mnediately.
Acosta, however. as he really needs still
another outfelder, especially q right
handed hitter. The manager undoubt-
edly regrets now that he waived on
to the Cincinnati club Of the National
League. Hendryx really Is only a fair
ball player, but he can hit, and stick
work Is what the Griffmen are going to
need with Rice not on deck Griff
deal in obtaining a. fly chaser from the
Reds. He will broach the subject to
Manager Mathewson, at any rate, and II
unsuccessfbul in this quarter will look
elsewhere for another outfielder.
The fine showing June Cass has
made in the practice games here would
point to the Des Mofnes club graduate
as the logical successor to Rice. but
class i of the draft and is likely to
be called for service any day means
he will not be retained by the Wash
ington club, as has been stated in
the club would have to give up $1,000.
and, in view Of his military status. 1t
| would be Just like throwing the money
| away.
considerably depressed over the news
| that Rice Is to be summoned for Army
service within few days. With his
| team intact. he felt confident of
Of putting up fight for the pennant; j;
| but, with IFS leading hitter and best
base rum ,r gone. the Nationals
1 chances Of making more than a re-
vii be reduced to a minimum. A feel
II ing Of gloom pervaded tho entire Grif-
II fithian camp. AS a matter Of fact. all
II the players recognize clearly what the
loss Of Rice's service will mean.
H The decision Of tho national COM
mission to the effect that all players
II Of the Buffalo club are free agents
to Washington contract The former
I Washingtonian is working hard here
every day and is rapidly getting into
shape for pitching duty.
| Dispatches from st. Louis announcing
that the lawsuits of Johnny Lavan and
j Derrill Pratt against President Ball
j of the Browns have been disposed OF
] to the satisfaction of all concerned
and the suits dismissed" does not tell
the whole story. The outcome is a
! complete vindication for the players,
who claimed President Ball had SIAN
! dered them In accusing the players of
laying down. on Manager Jones. In
addition, Lavan and Pratt won finan-
cial victory. in that Ball will have to
j pay the costs of the suits and also pay
each Of the players a substantial sum
for agreeing to drop the action for
damages. This fact was not stated in
the Official announcement" Further
more, both players benefited by the
fact that the suits necessitated them
| being traded to other clubs. and for
that reason prevented them from hav-