Evening star., 1918-01-17
GR|FFSNOT TO PLAY
GEORGETOWN TEAM
Contest With Boston Braves
Saturday, April 13, to Be
Only Preseason Game.
By DENMAN THOMPSON.

For the drSt time IN several years
there will be no game this spring be-
tween the Nationals and the George
| town varsity nine. It has been Man.
ager Griffith's custom since assuming
the reins here to accord to the collie
gians the honor Of playing the WASH
| ington club in the first game of the
season at the Georgia avenue grounds,
but this year the Boston club Of the
| National League will oppose the Griff-
| men in the only preseason exhibition
contest that will be played here. The
Nationals this year will open their
championship schedule at home for the
first time since 1915, and the exhibition
with the Boston club will afford local
fans their only opportunity to see the
Griffmen in action before the season
officially opens.
The game booked with the Braves is
set for Saturday. April 13. Arrange
ments for it were made by Manager
Griffith and Walter Hapgood. business
manager Of the Braves, who was in
Washington yesterday evening on his
way north from Miami, Fla, where
Stallings will take his men to train.
Griffith showed that he has considera-
BILE confidence in the governments abil-
ity to handle the transportation prob
uled with Joe Tinkers American Asso-
citation club at Columbus. Ohio, for
Sunday. April IA. Under the arrange
ments as they stand now, Griff will
have to hustle his players aboard
train Immediately after the Boston
game Saturday evening in order to
keep his Columbus engagement. Re
ports of trains being ten and twelve
hours late have not feazed Griff. how
ever. He says he can walk to Column
bus in a day and a half.
Aside from the Boston and Columbus
games, the only exhibitions the Ma
tionals have arranged for are with the
Chattanooga team Of the Southern AS
April 6 and Z. How he will put in the
week intervening between the Chatta-
nooga and Boston engagements has not
been decided. Grif has received an
offer to go to Louisville, Ky. for an
exhibition game with Owner Wathen's
A. A. entry and has taken it under
consideration. Griff has been Informed
that the soldiers stationed at Camp
Taylor. near Louisville, have Wednes-
days of. and that game on that day
would attract huge crowd. In case
he decides not to go to Louisville and
does not succeed in arranging games
elsewhere. Griff may bring his ath-
1etes to Washington and spend the
week prior to the Boston game on the
local lot.
Interest of the base ball public will
be focused on this city next week. when
Of the leaders of the sport for several
days. Monday the committee COM
posed of President Johnson d the
"~ - D. D~Ax
tary John HeydIer Of the National
League and Secretary John B. Foster
of the New York Giants will confer
with officials of the internal revenue
employed in collecting the war tax on
base ball admissions. and the follow
ing day this collection Of notables will
be augmented by the arrival of Presi-
natl Reds, who also Is chairman of the
national commission. and President
Dreyfuss of the Pittsburgh club, who.
with the assistance OF johnson and
Heydler. will draft the schedules for
the 1918 season. The schedule COM
mittee originally was slated to meeet
at Dover Hall, Ca, but owing to the
uncertainties Of travel the session has
been switched to this city. The work
confronting the schedule committee
this year cannot be disposed of as cas-
lily as has been the case in former sea-
sons. according to Secretary Heydler
NOur task is slightly complicated
this year because Of the fact that the
season will be condensed week."
Heydler says. Then. too, there may
be Developments in Washington which
will have a direct bearing on the sched-
ules. We hope to find out from the
government not only feasible plan
for tax collections. but also just what
we may expect in the line of trans
portation accommodations. Naturally
it is our, object to eliminate, or at
least to minimize. conflicts in those
cities represented in both major
leagues. In past years we have often
had to depend upon fast trains for this
purpose. and many of the fast trains
have been taken off the roads. The
joint schedule committee is confronted
with three or four days hard work,
and the time is getting dangerously
close to the annual schedule meetings
of the two leagues. It will be to gem
eral advantage this year to get the
schedules to the club owners as early
as possible. so that the business man
ayers may at once begin work on trans
pOrtatiOn."