The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1929-06-05

The contemplated purchase Of
the Atlanta Crackers by WASH
ington interests presents q pc
culiar situation which has your
average baseball fan asking
questions which seem altogether
!. in order.
Naturally the baseball bug
wonders why some Of the money
with which the Atlanta club
might be purchased isn't i'm
vested in players to lift the
Washington club out of the
depths in which it has been
groveling most Of the spring.
Possibly the use Of the word
players in that sentence is : bit
too general--the word pitch
ers" might well be substituted.
There are two answers to
such j question. The first and
foremost is that the pitchers are
not available. # they were, =
wealthy club such as the YAM
KEGS would have gobbled them
up long ago. There is q ques-
ton whether Washington or
New York needs pitching
strength the most. Certainly
either Of them could use one or
two additional box artists.
The other angle on the sub
ject is that maybe the corpora
tion known as the Washington
baseball Club is not the pro-
posed buyer of the Atlanta club
at all. It could be that the indi-
viduals who happen to control
the Washington club are taking
over the Cracker interests on
their personal account, hoping
to develop youngsters and sell
them to the Washington corpo-
ration at very fancy prices.
The local stockholders will be
making some inquiry about this,
no doubt, and they can't be
blamed If they do. President
Griffith was in quite a hurry
when he called the reporters to
tell them of the trip he and Mr..
Eynen were taking to Atlanta,
and he only had time to tell as
in q very sketchy way Of the
expedition.
Asked if he expected to float
any new stock in order to bury
up Atlanta, he unhesitatingly
replied that no new stock would
be created.
The natural assumption, then,
is that either the club is well
moneyed or has splendid credit
at the moment or that the club,
as a corporation, is not invest
ing at Atlanta.
It will all come out in the
wash, of course, as everything
does eventually come out, but
in the meantime fans and stock
holders are doing . bit Of won
dering which may or may not
be justified.
Three years of looking from
q very remote vantage point at
the world series are supposed
to have left the Golfers Of the
Washington club somewhat ex-
hausted. At least Griffith has
repeatedly made such a plant
to those with whom he discussed
baseball deals recently.
However, the club declared a
10 per cent dividend after its
last annual meeting, in January,
and has declared that much or
more every year for the last
five years. In 1924 and 1926
the club earned 40 per cent
dividends for its stockholders,
these being declared the Jan
uary Of the ensuing wears.
The Atlanta Club would make
good investment, under what
ever arrangements it might he
purchased. s'The New York Of
the South" has. in previous
years, spent plenty of money at
the turnstiles when given any
thing like a winner.
The present owner is not
practical baseball man, being
around Atlanta what Harry
Stevens, the hot-dog man, is
around New York's outdoor
amusements and recreations.
Under his hand the club has
slipped financially and sbortively.