Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980, 1922-02-09
Baseball Club, Handled
Properly, Gould Provide
Public Athletic Field
By Harry N. Grain.

Creation of a non-profit organ
ization Of business men and base
ball enthusiasts to conduct and
place upon a permanent business
basis the city semi-professional
baseball team would. in the long
run, IL carefully managed, provide
solution for two problems:
1t would lift the burden Of sup
porting a baseball team from the
shoulders of a few over-solicited
business men.
1t would within a few years
provide a public athletic field and
open-air meeting place with seat
Ing facilities sufficient to care for
bthe largest gatherings.
Need for Athletic Field Real.
The need for better business
management in the conduct of the
annual baseball team and the
elimination of the yearly sub
scription list feature has been too
thoroughly discussed of late to
need further emphasis, but the
need for a public athletic field,
which could be provided from the
profits of an efficient baseball Or
ganization, are not 80 generally
recognized.
Athletically, two commendable
movement have been launched on
more or less extensive scale in
Salem in the past year or 30 that
are destined to grow from year to
year and eventually demand pub
lie attention and recognition.
They are, organized athletics for
business men and organized ath-
letics for boys. Already most OF
the large cities, and many no
larger than Salem have recognized
these movements and have provid-
ed facilities for their perpetuation
and growth in the form Of public
ball parks, running tracks, tennis
courts and the like.
Must Provide for Boys.
In Salem the athletics-for-b bust
ness men idea Is yet in it's infancy,
but 1t has got firm hold ana is
gaining rapidly In popularity, as
Is shown by the yearly increasing
interest in twilight league" base
ball, the only form of outdoor
sport that has as yet been utilized.
The real problem here is that
Of providing facilities for the cul-
tivation of athletics among the
hundreds of boys In the city.
School workers, Boy Scout and Y.
M. C. A. officials estimate that
there are no less than 1000 boys
in Salem participating in organ
ICED athletic activities. Gradual
ly this widespread interest is be-
ing oragnized into one big move
ment to control and direct this
athletic interest and talent. Gram
mar school, Sunday school, Boy
Scout and Y. M. c. A.. teams are
being formed for boys of all ages
and sizes, leagues are growing up
in every branch of sports ana
some provision must, before many
years have passed, be made for a
public athletic field to accommo-
date these activities.
Converts Liability into Asset. --
A non-profit baseball organiza-
tion functioning over period of
years, with all Of the profits di-
verted into a sinking fund for the
establishment of such field, of
fers the solution. The cost of such
an undertaking could not, of
course, be financed in its entirety
by the baseball club, but the
scheme could well be worked out
in cooperation with the agencies
which are now promoting ath-
letics for boys and for business
men.
Such a plan is but one method
of making a town baseball team
an asset rather than a liability to
the community.
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