South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1919-09-08
Baseball Has No Attraction For
the Farmer Boy.

Inc farmer boys have been a stand
by in baseball. but the. farmer boy can
make so much money on the farm
nowadays that especially IN
the minor league-Offers no attrac-
tons from a financial point OF view II
IS easier work to play baseball than II
is TO farm. but farming is surer. Tho
boy who startn out in June ana VINO
follows the harvest to September can
make more money than the lad who
Joins a class D baseball club at SIPS
q month, and the harvest hand has the
surer job. In the end, as matters
stand. the fellow who goes at farming
for keeps, saves his money and buYs
some land or some stock. has a bet
ter chance Of being well fixed IN life
than the fellow who take to baseball
Farming is relatively a sure thing. II
you get hold Of a piece Of land II is
due 70 increase 10 per cent In every
year. The natural increment IN that
way will make a man well of when he
is co. In baseball you may run into a
manager who may not like your work.
You may be battered around. you NAV
be sidetracked you may be hurt. Won
will last but FIVE OF ten years AZ the
most and baseball does destroy the
habit Of work.
So we are losing our supply OF base
ball players. Pcfore the end OF 1921
We will have grandfathers playing the
game.
The baseball player. the prize fiEht-
er, the athlete Of all sorts must come
from the ranks of the hard manual
worker. And We are getting a nav
order Of manual workers. Probably
the best athletes we have now are ne
groes. Assuredly. the greatest ulgi-
lists We have had in recent years, bar
Jack Dempsey, who is part Indian.
have been negroes. I have seer. many
negro baseball players who would be
stars had they a chance TO 20 into fast
company. There is very little money
IN playing baseball on negro clubs.
from SIS to 1925 a month. So tbere
is no incentive for negroes to follow
the national game. Those who do fol-
low It are fast livers and do not en-
dure long. They play in the North IN
the summer and in the South IN the
winter Palm Beach IS a great resort
Of negro players. The hotels have
teams Of their walters, and the faded
guests bet and the players, who are
professionals, profit thereby But the
chance for a career in baseball is poor
for the negro. He IS barred in the
leagues and can not get much money.
The hard-working classes the mud
stills Of society" as a famous pro-
slavery orator called the negro. pro-
duce the athletes and the hard-work-
ing classes are no longer native-born.
Irish, British, Germanic, but mostly
Italian. Greek, Jugo-Slavic, etc. There
are many Slavs. etc, in the leagues To-
day. some of them more or less good
baseball players. The Covaleskies-
Pole from the Pennsylvania mining re-
gions-are probably the most promi-
nent Slaves. or id-Europeans. In the
game They have been very good
pitchers. very good baseball players.
Hugh Bezdek. manager Of the Pitts
burg team. is a Bohemian. which
would indicate that the Slavic charao-
ter is not untitled 10 baseball pur-
poses. Yet. on the whole, the slavs
OF no other peoples have shown the
same aptitude for the ball game as
the Celt and Gaels, Irish, Welsh and
Scotch.
Pelota CbalD IL the production OF
the Celts, or Of that Iberian-Celtc race
known ss the Basques. which inhabits
the northern provinces Of Spain and
! the southern departments OF France.
{ Pelota is played with a curved basket
5 against a wall. much on the line Of
I handban. with touch Of Ia crosse.
- the ball being caught In the basket
{ and thrown against the wall. This
9 game Is OF prehistoric age il the