Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1919-04-20
How About the Ability Of the
Great National Game to
Come Back" After the Big
Disturbance?
DIAMOND MAGNATES FRET
They Put on a Bold Front But
in Reality They Are Concern
ed for Fear Fans Weaned
Away From Box Office.
BY ED HUGHES

BY ED HUGHES
~ YER seen or been amongst a CO.
r, terie of buck" prvates when the
commanding general with all his
awe-inspiring sartorial trappings hap
pens to hove near? If in one way or
another you've had that thrilling
experience you are aware that said
bucks snap their heels together and
release a salute. as if their joints were
controlled by some automatic device.
The clicking symphony of obedicnt
heels IS followed by tipping right hands
that cut the ozone like an eXecutioners
scimitar of ancient times while the
great individual returns the mani
festo of respect restoring ease to his
subordinates and Gathering on his
majestic way. That's the way base
ball. the American national pastime
came in" The buck privates'' of
the world of sports, figuratively speak
ing, from the boxer to the golfer, rem
dering due obesiance while the Collos-
sus of athletics, the insignia of whose
rank is several hundred stars" on a
dirt brown and outfield green back
ground. stalks into the American pub
lies stadium to command the umn-
terrupted attention of the whole United
States for six months. Some gen.
eral Ell?
AN EPOCH IN BASEBALL HISTORY
Nineteen nineteen should prove one
of the most significant cpochs in the
history of baseball, for it indeed repre-
sents an epoch from the standpoints
of the player, the spectator and the
promoter Baseball, like Uncle Sans
industrial and political forces, faces it's
"a Al. -.
est of these, perhaps, is that of the
fans interest in the sport or in other
words the ability of the game to come
back" OF course, the baseball mag
mates put on Il bold front" and out
wardly reflect the customary attitude
of optimism for a banner year. But
why evade the Issue? In reality there
has been no little worry on the part
of those directly concerned as to
whether the rescue of enthusiasm for
the sport from the throes of unrest
caused by the world war will be COM
plete enough to meet the salary de-
mands of the various stars is an in
teresting problem, Here's power to
your punch baseball.
PROBLEM OF PLAYING STANDARD
And how about the playing stand
ard for the coming season? Has it |
been impaired or bettered through
army service, or neither? Many of
the players have been wounded and
others will return to their clubs minus
the benefits of spring training. Some, |
perhaps, are in better physical condi- |
tion than ever before by reason Of
bitches" in the army and navy al ;
though lacking in the prime essential |
of playing form. If there should be
some marked depreciation in the class !
of ball offered during the early stages :
of the pennant races the thoughtful /
fan should aScrbe it to the proper /
cause and not utilize it as an excuse |
to fling invectvcs and utter caustic +
comment
WILL THE RIOTERS FORGET?
Some of the diamond stars incurred /
the wrath of the public by their eva
sion of the draft upon the United !
States entry into the war by working |
out their patriotism in shipyards. !
Branded, fairly or unfairly as slack !
ers' by the fans a demand was made |
for their ostricism from baseball. Most !
OF them, nevertheless, are signed up
for the season aad, of course will play. !
VIII the, rooter forget? That. too, will .
be interesting to sec, or rather if were /
not mistaken, hear.
FOOD FOR ANALYTICAL
Can McGraw, the Little Napoleon"
succeed where others have failed and |
control the brilliant, but temper
mental Hal Chase? Can the popular
Pat Moran overcome the managerial
tradition of Cincinnati. THE Hoodoo
City, and satisfy alike public. pro-
moter and player? Shades of Griffith,
O'Day, Tinker, TlerZog and Mathew
son, but you are game, Pat, What |
will the new player managers do with
their rejuvenated outfits Higgins
and his Tanks, Coombs and his Quak-
ers, and bellicose Kid Gleason and his
nnharmonious White Sox? Can the
Cubs superior pitching staff outstrip
the Giants imbued with the incompar-
able McGraw "tabasco?" Have the
worlds champion Red Sox been
Strengthened or weakened by repeated
deals? And lastly has Connie Mack
after four years of player plotting
assembled another Of those pennant
Zig saws lacking in picturesque
characters, but containing the eff
cheney of a typical "Mackmen" ma
chine?
Can you dope it all out, Mr.. Fan?
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