New-York tribune., 1918-08-18
F anime Of Bats
In rance Ended
By Y. M. c. A.
Wood Turner'S Overseas
Making Good Imitation
of Louisville Slugger
By E. A. Bachelor

PARIS, July 29 by MaiD.-What at
one time threatened to be a serious
famine in baseball bats among the
members Of the American expedition
ary force in France has been averted
and the national game will flourish as
the green bay tree.
The athletic department Of the Y. M.
C. A has solved the problem and is
now able to assure the military Ty
Cobbs and Iris Speakers that there
will be 10 further dearth OF ash ma
terlzl This doesn't mean that men
are to neglect the ordinary precau-
tions Of holding the grain the right
way. Nor are they to be encouraged
to use the sticks for hrewood. But
with reasonable conservation every
thing will be all right
The Red Triangle folks found when
they first started to boom baseball in
France that it was not only impossible
TO buy any considerable number OF
bats in France, but that the French
wood burners hadn't any idea of how
to make them A hurry call was sent
to the United States to ship some over,
but it seemed that the bats acted as
sort of loadstone toward German sub
marines and that every ship carrying
them sought a cool, soft spot on the
bottom
Supply Runs Low
The supply finally get SO low that
the 7. NJ. C. A. realized it was a case
of teaching the Frenchrnen to turn out
bats or getting along without them.
The alternative could not be accepted,
because the rules require that every
man who goes to the plate take club
with him. 1t is part Of his toilet.
There never was but one successful
sionally for something besides sar
toria1 purposes This was the Chicago
American League club of 1906. winner
CT pennant and worlds champion
ship, These White Sox were most re-
,narkable people and their ability to
win without batting earned them the
name Of "Hitless Wonders" A base
on balls and safe bunt constituted a
batting rally for them, and any one
whose average was as much as .lS7
was referred to in the home news
But there aren't any such clubs as
the Sox in France and the American
soldier insists on having @ bat, so the
Red Triangle either had to get him one
or confess it's first failure of the war.
Representatives of the athletic depart
ment visited wood working factories
and with tears in their eyes pleaded
with the manufacturers to duplicate
bats that were submitted as models.
Thought 1t New Weapon
The Frenchmen, thinking that this
was some new weapon invented by the
Americans to cave in the Boche fea-
lures, said they would try. Their first
efforts resembled the club affected by
Jack the Giant Killer, according to the
best illustrators. They were too heavy
for an ordinary man to lift and were
shaped like George Morarty's legs,
which are so formed that you can tell
the ankle from the calf only by noting
which end the shoe is on.
The Americans thanked their French
friends kindly and assured them that
es facsimiles Of the g ant Sequoias their
bats were excellent but that the Yankee
baseball rules require the fail to be
used by only one man at time. The
Erenchmen tried again and it wasn't
long before they were turning out as
neat job as Louisville ever boasted.
1t was found that the bats could be
made to sell for franc, which is con-
siderably less than a fair stick costs
in America. Possibly Ty Cobb might
pick some flaws in the quality, but it is
plenty good enough for anybody except
most fastidious slugger. And it is
getting better all the time