The Wilmington morning star., 1944-02-11
By wEsTBROoK PEGLER

NEW YORK,-The door Of my room at the
Commodore hoped open and a man lurched
in breathing hard and shaking in terror. !
hadn't seen him in years and years. 1t was
Casey Stengel.
Hide mel" he croaked. They're after
me!''
"Cops?"
NO" he said Scouts. Hide me-" and he
went under the bed.
There is nobody after you. What's wrong
with you, anyway" h
81 am telling you they are right on my
heels" Mr.. Stengel said, peerng out mo.
body is safe. Lousy as you are, you amt
safe. They nearly grabbed Herb Pennock a
few minutes ago and posse of them are out
after Waite Hoyt.
me with this trick knee, you would think
they would leave a fellow be. l am strictly
At for the last 10 years so I figure nobody
will bother me, so l come down to the base
/ ball dinner and the first thing I know the
Giants want me for first base and Hickey
threatens me with subpoena to come over
to Brooklyn and catch. Ruth had terrible
time down in the lobby and I hear Walter
Johnson has been hiding out on his farm with
big shotgun
"Is it that bad?''
SIS it that bad," Mr. Stengel whined. 'It's
worse I got wire from Ping Bodie out ir
California that him and O'Doul were waylaio
by gang Of man-hunters from the Cncin.
natl club and only beat the rap because the
court wouldn't give extradition. Do you re-
member old Red Faber? Cleveland put hand
cuffs on him somewhere out West there and
his lawyer is asking for habeas corpus but
| it isn't any sure thing he can make it. They
tell me old Connie Mack is going behind the
bat again this year and Al Simmons is holding
out for $50 900 and a 1000 bonus if he lasts
through two games, and it looks like they will
grab him for the Browns.
''You remember Cracker Schalk? hear the
cubs got him.
'This is serious" Mr.. Stengel said. 1T used
to be you were 80 or 80 years old and they
started calling you Gramp and next year you
were in Sioux Falls or Rocky Mount. NOW II
you are under SO they don't mess with you
because they invest some money in fellow
and start building club around you and the
next thing anybody knows you over in
Africa some place, raising potatoes on your
farm, or working in machine shop for the
war effort. But at rs you would think man
would be safe.''
IT am 49, Mr.. Stengel whimpered. IT am a
very old, old man but can't prove it because
I was born in covered wagon and they
didn't have any county seat. come from iron
tier days, like iris Speaker. I wonder II they
caught him. That would be dirty shame
why even 10 years ago lHey uSeu W IlooC ooWi
! Washington outfeld for iris so those fly balls
: would drop dead in the drought season.
IT just saw terrible thing down in the
bar. You know Burt Whitman, the baseball
writer from Boston? Burt is as old as you are
I guess. Maybe even older. Never had glove
on. Wouldn't even know which END OF pat
Well certain dirty underhanded sneak OF
pal put subtle Oriental drug in his beer sc
The didn't know what he was doing ana wner
he comes to he is going to find ne IS playing
short for the Red Sox. 1t is death sentence
hear this pal got $1,000 cash for his treacher
Gus work. A slave-trader. They are turning
this nice hotel into crimp where they shang
hal HELPLESS old men with drugs and the frs
+[ing thew know they are with the Phillies OF
Prook1vn or Clark Griffith"
couldn't stick around forever listening tt
The had to 90 down and file my copy.
ssDon't!" Mr.. Stengel shouted. Don't!
t warn YOU if you step outside that door you are
Y " major league ba1l-player and you might ever
make the all-stars And if you don't drop deao
,, the first week you will be lynched You cant
VIM
The farmer said, ST don't aim to be nc
mixer" and wrote out check for the $40, 00(
(bond). gave him the kiss and the hug
: and the check was good.-Mrs. Mark W