The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-04-05
Talking
IT OVER
By JOE WILLIAMS
NEW YORK. April 5.

NEW YORK. April 5.
r DROPPED in to pay 2 social call
i on Cousin Egbert Barrow Of those
Yankees in his midtown Office Fri
day afternoon. and We sat there.
couple of big men in the world OF
sports. pulling the taffy about this
and that. and presently. In some
lnaccountable manner, the buzzing
drifted around to baseball. and rignt
out OF opaque sky with varlaoie
winds % the southwest I asked him
a question.
The question asked Uncle Egbsrt
touched or the economies Of inc game az
res rhethsr baseball would ever see
sno.her Gao 600 hired hand. Brother EE-
bers's reDlv vas a ringing no that caused
the window panes to SILVER ana ihe "4'sl
I'm the Office oasE TO heave and toss as
- caught IN the frenzy Of msooehe0
SIMEON.
mean TO say Father Egbert is Of the
rather firm opinion that the sum DIS or
,anIze.f- , Is paving Babe Ruth repre-
SCENTS the ultimate top in paw cheeks tnA'
ever will be paid to a human biped In
fanneIs whose main skin lies In his AFFINITY
to crash the onion. and spear the tomato
srDyo vou Vlu never hear Of another ball
plaver getting that kind Of money salo
the gentleman who functions as the "atch
49, ~ the treasury OF the richest ball
cIub in the game. Even Il another Ruth
came along he wouldn't be able TO COM
rnand Il. because he would be just another
Ruth. and that means he would not DC
yoyel,v Puth is worth what we are paw
inc him He is a great bail player. He
ia also something OF a phenomenon he
ra-,e along a. 2 time when the receptiyity
Of the fans welcomed a chance from Few
I'm games 70 batting orgies. L was
sftuatlon into which nc fitted perfectly
r
sIt isn't possible for a similar situation
"a occur twice in the course OF oaseoah'
II may even develop that in time there
viii be a switch. back to tho old-type OF
hasebau where the principal emphasis Is
placed on speed and pitching dominance
Rut vbathav this comes or not isn't perth
,snt n .ssr question. All the great hit
t.rs In ~ future are going to suner by
rompsrs IN TO Ruth. and this is going to
oDerat. against them as drawing cards.
Nobody prefers copy to the original
n
@TN other words" I commented,
you feel sure that there VIII
never be another 100000 oan
player"
Tn. sure there VIII never be another
one on this ball club" he answered. ana
the window panes shook again ana the
water in the Office cask rolled anu
pitched with great violence. There was
quality in the timber of the gentleman
voice which indicated that he meant ap-
proximateIy what he said. Up till then l
never realized what a torture 1t must be
10 spend Jake Ruppert's money.
4
OF course. there is = possibility that
parroW NAV he wrong. 1t is not very easy
"a Iower salary scales in any business.
few wears ago So. 900 was fantastieal
figure In baseball Christy Mathewson was
orobablv the greatest of all pitchers ana
a no time in his career did he Eet more
than $4,000
until Ruth came along the top mark
was $50 900 which Cobb drew as player
manager OF the Detroits. The trend mas
been steadily upward. When it begins TO
20 the other way it can be dehniteB
written that baseball as a public amuse-
ment Is going the other way too
4 ND what about that, Mr.. Bar
IA row. is baseball still the great
national pastime?'
Well. yes snd no. In the big leagues
baseball is bigger than ever. The at
tendance hgures-and that $4,000 con-
tract-prove that. Also the imposing
stands that have been built in recent
wears. fsose weren't built Just to satisfy
somebody's vanity. you know. But in the
minor leagues the game isn't as healthy
as It used to be
and I'll tell you why offered Mr..
Harrow. Baseball in the minors used
20 be a civic proposition. A city with
out a league team was like city with
ont a progressive Chamber of Commerce
or an active Rotarian body. In sense,
the bail club was a medium of national
advertising and the business men invest
ed in Il with no expectation OF dividends.
II was their contribution TO the advance
OF the city.
put in recent years this has changed.
TIE business men aren't making up the
Seheits and a minor league club that
can't stand on its own or isn't affiliated
With major league club finds itself in
desperate situation"
n
MIR. BARROW says there just are
1NA as many people interested in
baseball in the smaller cities as ever,
but that minor league baseball is
suffering-where it is suffering
from lack of patronage by civic lead
ers-a patronage which the game
used to, but no longer enjoys.
What effect Is this going TO have on the
future OF the majors: Probably none.
funny thing about baseball. YOU can al
uays find somebody who is willing to take
over a club. Right now. for instance. there
are more clubs than there ever were. and
more pAaNNES anu h~NN FNh hNhNNN wv
increasingly great number Of college men
who are Stunning to the game?
.
ssNo, there isn't anything seriously wrong
with baseball. Unless IL is the weather
There could be less rain.
why. do YOU know that two wears ago
the Yankees spent $4,000 on rain insur-
ance alone:'
STARS IN SEMI-FINALS