The Washington herald., 1918-03-24

By CAPT. T. L. HUSTON. f. o. R. c.
CSomewhere in France)
The late newspapers received here
december Is being the latesU depict
baseball as being again torn with
trouble and this time it is with the
perpIexity Of what to do under the ex-
listing national crisis.
Being vitaIly financially interested In
baseball and as myself. son and SON
in-law are serving in the United States
Army in this war. perhaps / am able
and entitled TO discuss the question
fairly and frankly from both view
points.
As l see IL from this far-o1 lookout
station, baseball wants to do its duty
by the nation and at the same time
it naturally desires to avoid the sacri-
fee OF its entire invested rights and
property.
Should the draft hit any one Cldb
unreasonably hard or should any stars
like Ty Cobb. Iris Speaker, Walter
johnson. Frank Baker, etc, be draft
ed, ! am sure that an appeal TO Gen.
] Crowder, who l. an eminently falr
man, or even TO President Wilson.
who seeks not the death Of any
American institution, will bring about
! the same fair treatment which Is
/ being constantly accorded other lines
Of business. Possibly. If one club Is
riddIed badly by the draft worse
than the others. il should be strength
ened by some internal legitimate
means. But baseball must watch
closer the signs Of the times. The
. Alexander -Killifer deal, as well as
that of Bush. Strunk and Schang, IN
dicated that it is strangely out OF
step with national events. The loud
publicity given the purchase OF play
ers for the large sums of $4,000 TO
$4,000 will be a harsh, discordant
note in the existing Worldwide
atmosphere of economy, retrench-
, ment and sacrifice and tend to shock
the fan public and make it pause
and ask, lis baseball stin stark
crazy
I think the public will realize that
in wartime. with players being fire.
! quentlv drafted away there cannot be
the same former hiGh-Class article OF
ball played. but they will be contented
with a reasonably inferior article Of
ball and to see the gaps filled up with
! buSheTs.
But after all, you will have good
! baseball Just the same. As our army
Cregularsl is being expanded to about
/ fifteen times its size, there remains
but a skeleton organization OF old
timers in the different units and the
spaces are being filled with recruits.
| The result is that we are rapidly
building up a splendid efficient new
army. 1t will be exactly so with
will -
! veIoped and new interest will be Gre
ated thereby; so despair not.
! But strict bone-dry economy must
be practiced. No one who reads the
/ daily papers but can foresee that 1915
will be an active one on the battle
/ fronts over here. 1t may be the de-
! Gliding year of the war. The inevitable
( casualty lists are bound TO have at
least at first a bad effect upon amuse-
ments. Folks don't even dance in
( France.
People will continue TO go to see ball
rames. but not in such numbers. The
gate receipts will drop lower than
! thev did during the bad years Of the
Federal League fracas. Why not?
| Sails must be trimmed accordingly.
Nothing could be simpler. But cable
news states that the -hicago meeting
ordered no cut made in the schedule
and no shortening of the spring
( training trip. They must be intoXi-
Gated with the delusive success of
1917. and fail to see the knockout
drop which may be their portion for
1918 The year 1917 is no criterion. 1t
had all the good and none Of the
bad of war.
The censor restricts a soldiers ut
terances, and quite rightfully so. But
Il am sure he will not object TO the
following message: Everybody but
the men managing baseball sees the
immediate serious situation to which
America is exposed. II they don't
wake up from their stupor and put
the national game in its rightful
place in the front ranks OF all pa
triotic movements. events combined
with public opinion will force them
out and put others more alert in
their places. This is no time to -four
flush" with the public. Beware OF
trifiing with the war situation. It's
loaded.
What should baseball do as its
| "bit?'' The American League, under
Ban Johnson's influence started well,
but did not go far enough. II initiated
military drill by its players under
regular army sergeants as one way
Of encouraging preparedness. Its own
ers bought 10000 of war bonds. The
New York club played Sunday ben
eft game. netting a large sum for the
New York Engineer Regiment.
| Charles Comiskey donated consider
able amounts TO the Red Cross from
gate receipts. Clarke Griffith is do
ing splendid service in sending thou
sands Of dollars in baseball parapher
MALTA to the soldiers over here. Quite
a start, but only a start. II could
have done much more. UD to Augusi