Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-11-23 | Page 10 | Merely to Start Talk, Asserts Ban

MERELY TO START TALK, ASSERTS BAN CHlfAfiO, Nov. 'JJ. President John-I John-I son of the American, league saM today that, his rfinarks on exemption for be-Icrtol be-Icrtol bawball placers yeptprday, were .lcsincij to open tip discussion of tho subj.'.-t, as cl.-arly tho life of eertain eliib-', if not of tfic h-agic, were uien-H'-erj hv the dralt. " W'e were ready last spring to flo-c eery bull park, hut no need for this 'vns HOen v the povernmenl , ' ' paid Mr. j John.-on. " It is clearly understood that I the draft law is not designed to wrc-k anv bnsi ncH. ! ''The president does not want that to i happen. Hence the time seems ripe for ! a disc-ussion of jii-t how the law should I he. administered to pivp. baseball precisely pre-cisely the samo safeguards that are afforded af-forded other business no more or no '' '"'f eina!n ball clubs are to he stripped ot th'-ir .star pluvrrs unfl others lose only ! a man here and lh.;rc major leaKuo hase-I hase-I will he a blK )e next year. ' .lohnson said. "t had hcen Riven to unrlerstalHl tint soveniini-nt ofticiala wanted a con-Ibiuaiico con-Ibiuaiico of m.ij.ir leasioe baseball durlnK the war. lint the public will not stand for inferior plnviiic and, rather than inflict in-flict such on them, we wouM close our pities until after tlie war. "Connie M-n-k bus informed m that niv of bis best men are already in ean-toiimenl ean-toiimenl eamps and be cannot cret alonK with the material he has left. The Cleveland Cleve-land Indiana have lost nine of their players play-ers ami l!ie Ho.slon I'.cd Sox have sent eiqht to the nervier. "Hot if the government wants hall placers for the trenches I will be the first to 'niiv,Kest that we pass up the game until the war ends." ' If. II. Krazee, president of the Boston Red S;o-. agrees with Johnson. Charles A. Combskev. president of the world a champion White Soy, holds opposite vtewa. Coiniskev said today that bis love of baseball Is second to his love of country. coun-try. President Johnson changed his mind today to-day relative to the shortening of the American leavcue schedule. Fie still favors the I ie-Kat'ie schedule, but said that afler the adoption of a l,VI-eaune schedule sched-ule by the National league the American league would havo to follow suit, and would adopt, the same schedule at tho meeting In Chicago next month.