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Show ROSy OUTLOOK POO BASEBALL, POPULAR Ii Indications Are for Revival of National Sport in 1919. By J. C. D. ONCE upon a time a celebrated walrus was moved to remark that the time had come to speak of many tilings of shoes and ships, the walrus said; of why the rfea la boiling hot and why little pigs have wings. As the walrus found many topics worthy of discussion, so does it come about that the cycle of the world of sports moves on and ever on. Even though the walrus had mauy tilings to talk about, he talked about only one thing at a time, and that will bo the rule this morning, when we take up the subject of baseball, especially baseball in Salt Lake. In normal years this would be just about the hour when the last of the season's baseball averages were being compiled, so that tho people might study the performances of their favorites. Since this is not a normal year, it is not inappropriate in-appropriate to reverse the usual order, and, instead of winding up a baseball season, we open it, so to speak. That the leaven is worKlng Is evidenced evi-denced almost every day in items percolating perco-lating westward from big league centers in the east. The trend of this talk Is that tho season of iyi9 will see baseball almost, if not fuliy, restored. That there will be major league bad next summer at this time appears certain. Of course, there is many a siip 'twixt the cup arid the saucer, and -exigencies and" emergencies emer-gencies may yet arise which will render impossible the reopening of the park gates. The signs however, point, to favorable fa-vorable conditions for a revival of baseball. base-ball. Up to Government. As is the way of so many things nowadays, now-adays, the fate of baseball rests with the government. If the government lends its approval, there will be baseball. Charley Ebbets of the Brooklyn club Is inclined to do little or nothing in the way of preparation until tha government govern-ment gives the word, and many other major league magnates are following his lead. That the government esteems baseball base-ball highly was clearly proved last fall, when it permitted the big leagues to prosecute their soasons over almost the whole of the. schedule, and also to permit per-mit the playing of the world's series. With victory achieved, It would seem not j unreasonable to assume that the people of the land are ready for some diver- slon, and that tiie government will recog- j nize baseball as a means of supplying that diversion. Favorable action by the government would facilitate the release of ball players In the national service, and in many others ways would oil the machinery for a beginning. A good four months remain before actual baseball time arrives, and it is the developments during those four months that will have an important bear-Ins bear-Ins on the 1919 prospects. Fnquestion- ' ably, many of the club owners would welcome even a curtailed season if a full . season were inadvisable. The chief consideration con-sideration on this head perhaps Is the j possible danger that might lie in depriv- , ing the public of baseball for a whole i season and thus get the fans out of the I habit and out of the mood. Another ! Important Item is that In almost every! city there is an investment running as high as a million dollars in plant. Ly- ; ing Idle, these plants are enormously ex- j pensive, for rents, taxes and ttp-keep must be met. It requires no great effort j to understand that even half a season ; would mean a saving of vast sums. , The action of the big leagues will govern gov-ern the action of the minors. If the big leagues open, the minors are bound to do so also; if the big leagues suspend for another year, probably nut one nmlor league will start. Salt Lake Ready. The Tvi'ic Coast league will ring its bell and blow its horn at 'the first hopeful hope-ful sign from the big fellows. The Coast league is in excellent shape, and much more favorably situated, perhaps, than any of the other class AA leagues. In this connection it must be said that Salt Lake is In a better position than probably prob-ably any town in the country, base-ballically. base-ballically. In a gossipy hour yesterday afternoon, after-noon, Billy Lane, the Salt Lake club's president, chatted cheerfully about the prospect. "It seems to me." said Billy. . "that we are as certain of baseball next season sea-son as wrc can be certain of anything. Naturally, it all depends on the government's govern-ment's attitude toward the game. There are many indications that the government's govern-ment's attitude .will' he favorable. The next consideration, then, is the state of the world. If there are great questions absorbing the whole attention of the people, as there have been in the last f e w yea rs, baseball will get little notice. no-tice. ' If an enormous number of American Amer-ican soldiers are to be kept in Europe for police purposes that also will have an effect. At this lime, however. T can see only one answer to the question as to whether we wiil have baseball next year, and that answer is 'Yes.' "I have had no opportunity of consulting consult-ing the other clubs nf t lie league on their views, but roundabout reports are that they will be ready for the gong. Railroad Rate Problem. "There are many problems to be denlt wit h which have not before presented themselves. For example, there is tiie mai ter of railroad rat-s. It is manifestly mani-festly impossible to pay the high ra tes obtaining at present, and to meet this situation I think the sc.-ipon might he cut to twenty weeks, beginning two weks later and playing two weeks in September Septem-ber only. That would jjive eacb club two rounds of the circuit instead of three, at as present, and would make a Feason extending beyond Labor day. If thre should be a modification of the war-time railroad rates, however, T have no doubt that our customary thhty-w thhty-w eek schedule could be mt." Iane gives scant attention (o the reports re-ports from the northwest to tiie effect that Seattle and Port Is nd "waul in" on the Const lairnp. If th" high rules continue, con-tinue, the northern trips would be Im-pn?sib, Im-pn?sib, and even if the ra ' f,s wre lowered there is a question as to the r.d-vif-ahility of taking In two cities, nne of whhm has already proved an indifferent bas-'bail town and the other an experiment experi-ment at best. Bees Are Jntact. Salt lake could s'ep into a s-capon of baseball on a week's notic". f-o far as pi a ving strength gns. That. is, r.f course, if the government'?: attitude 1? favorn''!". Nnt a sine i- a-jdiliruiai player play-er would havf to be provided if the Y'.t-a I in tiie pprvi.-f were released ;ind those engaged In shiplji ;id ing re.-pfinde,. A 1 I are nn th-v club's reserve r.yih. Morris ipeith. Butch F.if r and ,in -! wricht f.rf in t":: mn y nud Abuph 1 Shinkle N in 'he army in Fran V?i!- ter Ix-vr-renz .md Paddy Sigun are v. :?h i a hopp.t n 1 unit at San Fran"i-'-n. a -id j that is about tiie PVf.ni of i.bc plyr-iy I for whnm releases fro: t the military -.r-vice would lave to 1 "-.rained, r-roid-I .olTvayp. nf rouT i ha 1 r Civrn- nient were willing to release them upon , application. j The club as it stands on paper at this j time runs like this; ; Ca tellers Mike Konniek, Butch Byler. Pitchers Adolph Sch inkle. Walter Leverenz, Clarence Smith, Jean T.uibuc. Ken Penner. Edgar Willett, Tim McCabe. First base Earl Sheely. Second base Paddy Siglin, Gard Gis-lason. Gis-lason. Third base Tex McDonald. Harry Sands, Morrie Rath, Karl Crandall. Shortstop Billv Orr. Harry Daubert. Left field Buddy Ryan. Center fieid Jack Farmer. RUM field Ward Miller, ruilty Cliff Lee. The death of l.-arry Chapped takes from the club a grand ball player, and one who will be missed by fans and mates alike. From this list of players it is clear that Walter McCredie could take tiie field upon short notice with a great ball club. Remarkably Favorable. The financial situation of the club Is no less favorable than the situation as It affects players. The club is under no overhead expense for park rental In idle times; it does not owe a dollar, thanks to Lane's prompt action in raising money for deficit-covering purposes uy stock assessment; owns all its players; is a creditor of the league to the extent of several hundred dollars, und generally gener-ally ts in tiptop form. A part of last summer spent in the Puget Sound country served to convince me that baseball, so far from being dead, was indeed a live wire. The shipyard clubs at Seattle, Tacotna and Olympia, made up largely of Coast league players, staged merry battles every Sunday and sometimes on Saturday. The various yards at Portland also had strong clubs. The patronage at these games was remarkably re-markably large, and the play was discontinued dis-continued only when the demand for greater effort in ship construction was made. A more recent visit to California was equally convincing respecting thy continued con-tinued popularity of baseball, even in its absence on account of a disease emergency. emer-gency. There -seems to be a well-founded well-founded opinion' in Los Angeles that Kd-die Kd-die Maler. iormer owner of the club, will again take over the Tigers. John Powers, Pow-ers, president of the Angels, is quoted as? saying that the Seraphs will be right there. This early word concerning the baseball base-ball outlook for 1!U0 is designed to give the fans a general idea of the situation in which the sport finds itself at present pres-ent and the highly gratifying state of preparedness of the Salt Iike club for a new pennant campaign. |