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Show "KEEP CHEERFUL" SAYS OLD ROMAN; BASEBALL WILL HELP YOU DO IT Charley Comiskey Sees No Reason Why Club ,s Owners Should Become Panicky; Game Will Go On Much Same as if Star Players Did Not Enlist; Public Requires Sport to Ease the Strain. By CHARLES A. COMISKEY. (As Told to G. W. Axelson in Chicago Herald.) m IT WOULD be useless to try and forecast accurately tlip conditions which might prevail next season in baseball, but if the fans want to know how an owner feels about tho prospects they aro more than -welcome to any ideas of mine. The plans I entertain for the comluj; season arc not startling, and I shall advance no novelty in the conduct of the game. It is true that wo are living under unusual un-usual conditions, but this js no rea-mju rea-mju whv we should grow panicky. Instead, In-stead, it. was never more important than at the present time for everybody to keep his head aud quit rocking the '"' baseball owner owes a great, deal to the public and to the country as a. whole. Ho is expected to turnish wholesome amusement to millions, and he is not expected to show the white feather during the stress of too times, lie owes the fans a duty, ami that is to keep a ball team m the field, regardless of conditions and despite the fact that it might prove a losing venture. 1 make this statement state-ment with the reservation that it. is taken for granted that the country wants baseball. I think it does, and Ste.;m laving mv plans accordingly. If - should be the slightest hint that j the sport is not, wanted during the war, would like to be the first to ' Hose tho gates and turn my park S. over to the government, if it should want it. Big Plans for 1918. Going on the assumption that the eountrv will benefit from baseball, and that, it is necessary in order, in some measure, to relievo the strain, I am planning for as great ami successful suc-cessful a season as wo ever had on the South Side. T am not banking on the financial end of tho game, although al-though I see no reason now why the learns will not bo patronized fairly we'll, but f want to see it an artistic success. This, then, brings us to tho players, the most important, of ail. Without players there will be. no game. Now. what effect will the continuation con-tinuation of the war have on tho teams and on the sport as a whole? 1 have at no stage worried about, the playing end of the game. We will have all the players needed aud I am positive that tiie fans will have no kick coming in the lineups. It i quite possible and. in fact, probable, that some of our stars will be missing miss-ing during the coming season. I do not particularize as to my own team. This goes for all of them.. We may lose a favorite or two. and again wc may not. This is no worry to me. as I kuow that the fans will take this into consideration. The public will understand when the country lovies on our men and perhaps wrecks a team here ami there. 1 have always found that the patrons at our games t:,ke these setbacks philosophicallv. and all that is uecessarv to hold their confidence is to do the right thing by iheni. Wants Sox to Do It. At the present time it is impossi-jTJ impossi-jTJ i-'le to forecast the loss of this or that player. For myself, I hope the Whito Sox will figure second to none ir. the military game.1 There is no question that some pf the men should lit exempt -under the present rules, not becauso they are ball players, but because they have dependents. Four of our players are already in the sor-vice. sor-vice. More undoubtedly will join. I shall have no kick if the government takes tho best we have, if these can do the sountry a better service on the battlefield than on the diamond. I have figured right along that it would be extremely unpatriotic for any owner in baseball not to do all in his power for his country. This is more important now than ever in our history. Taking it for granted, then, that the teams will bo hit by enlistments and draft, what will the effect be? Will the sport be good enough for the fans to patronize I I will answer with a positive "yes." There will bo mighty lil.tlo difference from that of last season. In fact, the chances aro that the sport will be oven more interesting. in-teresting. 1 have passed through a number of baseball wars, conflicts which have drawn as heavih- on the owner as the military draft will. Did tho fans quit coming? Not at all. Thev saw new faces in every city and before the fans had finished speculating as to whether this or that plave.r would make good in fast company tho teams were swinging into a stride as fast and artistic as any previous company. com-pany. A minor leaguer of today became be-came tho star of tomorrow, and it had tho effect of pushing players to the front wdio otherwise never would have had a chance to show in tho major leagues. Draft Will Not Stop Game. Tht question has been advanced whether or not it. would be possible to have baseball if every man of tho draft ago should be taken. I think it would. I do not expect to see every man go, but even in that contingency con-tingency we could carrv' on the game if the public, wanted "it. We could I go out and get players under and above the draft age, and if worst I came to worst we could develop ma- I tonal. This would be of benefit in the long run. ' It is not. expected that plavers, dr.v'ted into the army ami fair'v ad-aneo.l ad-aneo.l in age, will be much good as ball players wheu they return? New men will have to take their places and these would be tho ones which we have developed while tho others! were fighting. The war will end! sometime. When that conies the people will be as keen for baseball or : more so, than they ever were. Should ! we then permit the game to drop J 1 would never consent to that, unless there were good reasons for it. It has been predicted that our team would be wrecked were Eddie Collins Ray tv-taalk. Joe .lackson or auv ot! half a dozen other plavers taken away from us. J do not. agree with that. Our chances for the lTa' would perhaps be lessened, but not"ruined Other teams also will be hit and in the long run this would be equalised. ' In case our best plavers were drafted i we would fill their places with some- I body. That somebody might make I (Continued on Following Page.) I 'KEEP CHEERFUL' 15 OLD MI'S ADVICE (Continued from Preceding Page.) . good, and even if he or Jhey did not, someone else would in time. Must Furnish Some Cheer. I I have no patience with those I preaching calamity all the time. Xow ; is the time, if it ever was, when ! every one of us who stay at home ! should be cheerful. The count ry ' needs that as much as men and mate-! mate-! rial. Looking at the bright side dur-j dur-j ing the darkest days- will have a lot to do with winning the victory across the water. Baseball should furnish that side of life. It should be used as a means to cheer us up, and that is 1 one of the realms why I am so strong for it. There is a financial side to the game, in which the public is not much interested, but it might be well worth a comment or two. There is no ques-. tion that the owners themselves have been responsible for the conditions condi-tions which confront them. Baseball has to be conducted the same as any other business. Accounts should at least balance at the end of the sea-j sea-j son. Sometimes this is impossible, I but in that case it is well to trim the ' sails. This has to do with economy, j and this is the time when it should be put into operation. , The club owners will be fairly well I fixed in litis respect next season. Many of the war-time contracts have expired, and this, will make it possible possi-ble for the owners to retrench without with-out cheapening the attraction. Jn the lona" run I think the present situation situa-tion will work for the good of the game. It will put the sport on a safe and sane basis, will make the race.-i race.-i more uncertain than ever and will i tend to bring out new plavers, who in time will be a credit to the game. |