Evening star., 1924-06-22

WlleS OF magicianS and seerS and
from which such orders spring anc
take their rituals.
For did not athletes strive for
supremacy through skilful and crafty
methods; did not brilliantly uni
formed drill teams seek to impress
the public mind with stately and
serious ceremonies?
II was brilliant, indeed that
gathering at Clark Griffith's Stadium,
and different from former years in
that there was greater dignity and
more seriousness of purpose. in every
moment of the afternoon than an
such similar previous occasions.
From the second when the Masters
Association formed 10 receive the
parade until the base ball teams took
the field for practice, little OF leTity
or OF fun was evident.
MaSonry's RaIlying Day.
1t was Masonrys get-tos sether day,
the annual event when the Shrine
and Grotto meet for the furtherment
Of the greatest of all virtues, meet
in the afternoon which has for It's
sole purpose the building up OF the
Masonic and Eastern Star Home.
Twenty thousand persons were
gathered more for the pageant they
knew was coming than for base
ball game, and il was with intense
interest that their attention was
-
field when the music Of hands ana
the appearance of the national col
ors, followed by pennantS and BAN
ners. proved forerunners OF what
was coming; win lra Harry mo ea[ey, the
Shrine Patrol, the Shrine Band, the
Saracen Guard. the other Shrine
organizations; with Sam Shreves'
monarch of the Grotto, were the
Grotto Band drill team and other
Daughters of Job.
Straight before the Masters AS
sociation marched the colorful process
sion. And in the procession strange
Fall River Mass. the Azab Grotto
Band and delegates from that Grotto
on their way TO the Grotto convention
at Indianapolis. The review over, the
entire contingent formed in deep cen
terfield and marched. organization by
organization. with colors family STIR
red by a breath of air, but with three
bands and two drum and bugle corps
stirring all with the strains that orlhS
to mind the Rockets Red Glare,
while 10000 stood at attention with
barred heads in. reverance Tor the nag.
Girls Win Drill Honors.
Then the drills, and famed as are
the Shrine patrol and Saracen Guard
and Grotto, and Commandery for the
excellence of their work, the most at
tractive of all yesterday was that
phalanx of girls, the Daughters OF
uniforms like veterans and who
e drilled like veterans Applause FOR
them was almost constant. And per-
haps that APPLAUSE came from almost
spontaneous recognition by thousahos
that the physical strength, mental alert
ness and courage, orderliness and char
acter, represented in those girls are
the attributes which in the future
motherhood Of America will be the
bedrock of community life and ma
For twenty minutes in different
parts off the field De Molay Com
inanery, the Shrine Patrol the Grotto
Drill team, the drill team Of the De-
Job carried on. And intricate as were
some of those drills not one mIsStep
was seen. The banrs and other or
Plantations in the parade were tax
ing the seats reserved for them in the
Stands and just a few minutes before
3 o'clock the drill teams also broke
fanks.
: 1t was time for the ball game, but
there was not the interest in that
as in the formal ceremonies and drills
because from the minute the drills
were completed the big crowd began to
thin out, until at the end of the game
no more than one-fifth of those that
Game were left.
: When the teams took the field for
-practice some person. or dozens Of
spersons perhaps, because their seemed
TO be an organized effort in the result,
distributed thousands of whistles
scrapers, horns, winders. and other noise
making devices by which the world was
supposed to understand that some
thing was going on.
Then the "BnII Game"
Then the game. That part Of the
afternoons entertainment in many
respects left much to be desired. In
fact, worse ball games sometimes are
played but not often. AS an exh1bl-
ton of the national pastime the con-
test was chiefly noticeable for its
lack of that eXpertness which must
be associated with good base ball.
Grotto brought on the field team
somposed of young men who are
playing base ball regularly In the
amateur leagues and on the semi
pro independent mines around Wash
ington, but if those who wore the
uniforms of the Shrine have engaged
themselves with the business end of
a bat recently their experience cerI
tainly was not productive of the kind
of efforts that win ball games.
One thing, though, for which the
spectators could not find criticism
was in the variety OF base ball shown.
seventh inning, I've scored every
thing but a home run, and I'd like to
fill out the day by marking one up"
But nobody's wild swing, or true
swing, was good enough to allow
time to make the circuit However,
Hiser, who was hitting fourth for
Grotto on the presumption that he
would do the Babe Ruth act in a
pinch, landed on one which rolled al
most to the stands and put him on
third, and Davidson also hit
high fly to center field, which HiSer
could not have handled worse had he
tried, and on which he went to third,
hands after he had backed up for it,
and suddenly sat down. because a
circus acrobat COULD not have main
tanned his balance in the unnatural
position in which the catch was at
tempted. That was scored an error,
kind of base ball player should
not be expected to make such a
catch. and that it really was a three
base hit 1t was too hot TO argue
the point and Davidson got his three
base hit
AItrOck Takes 1t Seriously.
Nick Altrock played first base for
the Shrine, and really took his job
seriously. He pieyad first all right
but. was not the hit as a serious ball
player that he usually is as a CO.
median. But at that Nick had lot
of luck when opposing pitchers could
not get the ball over the plate to
him. The first time up he famed
rather helplessly, to the delight of
the thousands present
Both teams got a run in the irst
ond. The end of the third, though.
found the Grotto with the Shrine
goat pretty we'll haltered- and by
the end of the fifth the animal had