Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-05-02
WANT KAISER ASA
BASEBALL UMPIRE
Soldiers So Dippy Over the
Game They'd Like to See
Bill on the Job

Next to the war itself. baseball is
attracting more attention in the AL
lied camps than anything else. For
eign papers appear to be utterly
puzzled to account for such a strange
turn OF events. Even the French
government is now agitated and adds
its urging to the Y. NJ. C. A. that the
{rresence OF two professional base
American Expeditionary Force in
France would be of inestimable
benefit. They have cabled to the
heads of the Y. NJ. c. A. in this coun-
try. asking that the project of send
ing two teams of big leaguers abroad
shall be taken up and agitated earn
estly.
The Y. NJ. C. A. in France has ar
ranged for thousands of games be-
tween the soldiers, but the playing
of experts is needed to keep the en-
pitch. they declare. There is little
doubt that baseball will respond
heartily to this call.
Baseball has penetrated to the bat
tlefront, or at least within sound and
range of the German guns. The last
number of the stars and Stripes"
the official newspaper of the Amer
lean Expeditionary Force, thus de-
scribes a game:
What was probably the first ball
game to be staged by the A. E. F.
within home-run range of the
Boches' guns, with Hun aviators oc-
cupying deadhead seats in the sky.
and with shrapnel splinters and other
delicate offerings taking the place of
the pop bottles and straw cushions
that nSnallN- THAR = q
in the course of an exciting contest,
took place the other day somewhere
along the western front where a GER
tain infantry regiment was resting
in between spasms of sliding into
FritZie spikes first.
There were no peanut shells
chucked around the lots, but there
were lot of other kinds of shells
and all served hot. There weren't any
hot dogs, but up in the sky not far
of were a bunch of sausage bal
looms that almost looked the part.
What score cards there were the ar
tillery observers kept. In fact, they
recorded some near hits from anti
aircraft guns within 200 feet of the
diamond.
But that didn't disturb the con-
testing mines at all. 1t wasn't the
first time they'd played off the home
grounds, and they weren't a big
stagestruck. And as for the atten-
tions which the Boche showered upon
them? Ball" they'd holler when
she'll came whizzing over their way.
Too high, Fritz; gosh, you're way up
in the air"
1T was some game. all right. but
1t upset all the dope. Who would
imagine that those calloused and
back-bent souls who toll all day and
half the night in a regimental adju-
tants office could squeeze out to the
good at the end of nine innings with
a balance of two runs in their IA
vor. winning against such hardy
outdoor sons of Mother Nature as a
detachment recruited from the pio-
neers and the signal platoon? But
that's what happened. The office
bench warmers put it over the pio-
neers and the signal platooners by a
score of II to IL, in spite of the lat
ter's wigwagging and semaphoring
and Morsecoding from the coaching
boxes"
y Both French and British soldiers
are getting dippy over the wonder
full pastime which was born and fos-
tered under the Stars and Stripes. 1t
is suggested by these fellows that
Kaiser william when captured be
made to work as umpire for his pun
ishment.