Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-10-19
LITTLE BROWN MEN
. OF THE FAR EAST
In Danger Of Being Wiped Out
Unless Someone Teaches Base
ball To The Sianese
BAT, A DANGEROUS THING

troops fighting with the Allies in
France a few things about the great
American game of baseball, the little
danger of being entirely wiped out
It's shame that they should be per-
mitted to go on taking liberties with
the Yankee pastime and piling up cas-
ualties. too, because they are nice
boys and they look like good troops
They are snappy and smart and we'll
disciplined, but they never will see
the front If someone doesn't take them
aside and confidently explain that a
baseball when il comes in contac. with
the human skull or idea emporium, is
TO be classed as dangerous weapon.
The trouble is that the soldiers
from the land of the white elephant
are trying to apply the same princi-
pies TO baseball that they use in their
native games. Unfortunately for them
the Siamese ball is made of wicker
and is soft and light. A baseball is
neither of these things, and if you
don't believe it, ask somebody who
has stopped one of Walter Johnson's
fast ones with his dome. He knows
That is, he knows what the doctors
and nurses tell him about it when he
comes to few hours later.
In the first place, it is necessary TO
explain something about the Siamese
game. Several men stand in a circle
to play this, and the object is to keep
the wicker sphere, about as big as a
eroquet ball, in the air. The players
use fee, elbows, knees, shoulders and
heads, particularly heads, in attain
ing this object They develop won
derful skill in batting the pill around
with assorted corners o ftheir anato-
my. too, and sometimes the ball does
for several minutes. Apparently there
are no points scored and the play is
simply for exercise and to exhibit dex-
terity and cunning. The game is pop
ular among several nationalities of
Oriental athletes.
"Eh bien," as the French say, al
though they don't pronounce it as
you might think they would.
When a detachment of these Sia-
mese athletes arrived in a training
camp in France, they Immediately
wanted to learn baseball. There is a
Y. M. C. A. Foyer du Soldat in this
camp, of course, just as there are
foyers everywhere else in which
troops attached to the French COM
mand congregate, and as there are
American amusements in one form or
another wherever in France there is
headquarters of the Y. w. G. A,
knights of Columbus. the Jewish We'll
fare Board, the American Library AS
ISOLATION, or the Salvation Army. The
American athletic director attached to
this Foyer offered to teach the Ban
kok delegation the game. and the dia-
mond was duly laid out.
First the director explained the
general idea of baseball through the
interpreters, with which the Siamese
are literally provided. The Orien-
tails listened attentively and soon told
the American that they were ready for
the practical part So a couple of
teams lined up and the pitcher I'M
corked the Siamese idea of curve.
To the horror of the Americans pres
ent, the batter promptly stuck his
head in the way of the ball and ran to
first base. Or rather staggered to
first base Fortunately for him, the
pitcher didn't have any speed, else
the batter would nave been carried
to first, or to the hospital. The
American instructor fastened to ex-
plain that it was not according to
The Spalding guide to stick ones
thought foundry in the path of the
ball and they tried it again.
Evidently the next batter thought
the instructor was complaining be-
cause his predecessor naGn'. DRIVEN
the ball far enough with his head, for
he deliberately butted the first pitcn
as hard as he could A. this inter
esting junciure the instructor halted
the game and kindly but firmly insist
the implements of war in the inter
ests of safety unless the Siamese
changed their tactics. He saw that
all sorts of international tangles
might develop if he permitted sol
diers of an allied power to commit
suicide one by one.
This time he told the interpreter
slowly and distinctly that the ball was
to be nit with the log OF wood carried
by the latter and not with the fea-
lures. lie even tried to tell that old
story about Hughie Jennings: to-wit:
Hughie was batting one day when the
opposing pitcher beaned him right on
the forehead. He dropped like log
and was with difficulty revived by
the use of large doses of ice water ap-
piled externally. AS he made his way
groggily toward first base, he heard
somebody in the bleechers yell:
"That's putting the wood to it,
Hughie, ole boy" OF course, the
story was lost on the Siamese inter-
prefer. but Jennings still maintains
that it is good story.
At any rate the date of using the
fail seemed to percolate little and
the next batter swung madly. Being
unused to the trick of meeting the
ball, he missed He tried again and
missed. The third time, he threw
away the bat entirely and butted the
ball For hours the American la
bored to convince the Siamese that it