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Show , --"' 1 - 1 - ' Secretary Baker Holds Professional Baseball ; a Non-Essential Labor Strict Interpretation of Work or Fight Order De-'! De-'! mands Employment of Able-bodied Persons in National Defense, Either in Military Ser-i Ser-i vice or Industry and Commerce 'I of the Country. WASHINGTON, July !!.-- PruTes-dMal PruTes-dMal l-a;.t'ha!l w;m held a nn-rsMt-iilijil occupat Inn under the army work or fiht order today ' hv Secretary raker. , "I han decided that the work m light J reiiulRt Ions include baseball," said Mr. Hakcr In nnnnuudnK his decision. J The Hecrelitry also expressed the optn-I optn-I Inn that I he draft regulations nhould be j changed fio iw to Include all persona en-y en-y .ifn-d ho c I y in entertaining within the ' work or fight provlnion. training and It is quite inconceivable tlwii oceiii ulcus cannot bo found by tli-se men which not only would relieve re-lieve them from the onus of nun -pro-dudive emplovment, but would make them product l o in some capacity his-ihly useiul In the nation. This change will be welcomed by the individuals indi-viduals involved, and its usefulness to the country, both direct and .indirect, is obvious. The third consideration is. of course, the- serious one, and is the one whkli has hrom; hi a bout t be pi eperd appeal lo thi' president. The stress of Inteu-I Inteu-I sivrt occupation in Industry and coin-j coin-j Mierco in America in normal times is 1 The decision was niven on ;ippe;U In (ho j iMe of Kddle Aiusniilh, thb Washington 4 American catcher, which came to the secret n ry with a sugKCstldii from the 1 local draft board that the regulations bo 1 changed to exempt hall players. f The secretary licit! that with many 5 players beyond draft ago It Is by no means J certain that complete disorganisation of 1 tho haselvill business will follow ; that I baseball pliverH are men of unusual j physical ability und alert ness. able to 4 mlcMuately provide for their fa ml lies in productive occupations and that the em-, em-, ploynient of able-bodied persons In non-j non-j productive work cannot be .justified on j the k round of the social stat us of the j national Kanie. i, JSoard Killings Sustained. J In passing upon the appeal. Secretary tUikor said: j Tim lnrmuane of the regulation pcr- j tinent brie occurs in paragraph C of section I'-l-K, as follows: ) I'crsons, including ushers and other 1 attendants, enascil and occupioil Hi I c onnect Ion with Karnes, spoi ts and Hinusfinents, etc. : obviously baseball players are per-sotm per-sotm occupied in a sport, so that the I ruling of the local and district boards must ho sustained us plainly correct. It Is suia'sied, however, that t Ho ( rcmdalions bo clianscd to exclude baseball plnyers from their operation i an I this appeal is not reallv based 1 upon any doubt as to (he correctness of the determination made by the local lo-cal and district boards, but is ad- i dressed to the wisdom of the rcula- 1 itons. Ivisobairs Arguments. The arguments in this behalf are t-hree in number: I 1 . Thai baseball is a business in 1 which very lar.m investments of t money have been made, imolvim; the such to Kive me m:iesi nnpor- tance. and social value ' lo outdoor recrt-al ion. 1 1 may well he 1 hat all of the persons who attend such outdoor out-door sporls are not in need of them, but certainly a very larpe preponderance preponder-ance of the audiences in the great national na-tional exhibitions am helped, physic-ally and menially, and made more efii-cient. efii-cient. Industrially and socially, by the relaxation that they enjoy. But the times are not normal: the demands of the army and of the country are such that we must all make sacrifices, and the non - productive employment of ahle-bodted persons, useful in the national na-tional defense, either as military men or in the industry and commerce of our counlrv. cannot be justified. The country will be best satisfied uf the Kreat. selective process by which our army is recruited makes- no discriminations discrimi-nations anions men, except those upon winch depend the preservation of the businejt.-s and industries of the country essential to the successful prosecution prosecu-tion of the war. Regulation Should Stand. 1 am therefore of the opinion that t he reulat ion in question should not bo changed, but rather that the scope of its provisions should he so enlarged en-larged as to incluile other classes of persons whose professional occupation is solely that of en certain ins:. Our people will be resourceful enough to find other means of recreation and relaxation re-laxation if there bo not enough persons per-sons beyond the useful military or industrial in-dustrial nso to perfonu such f une-tions. une-tions. and they will be wise and patriotic patri-otic enough not to neglect the recreation recre-ation necessary to maintain iheir efficiency ef-ficiency meiviy because t hev are called upon, in the obvious public interest, to sacrifice ;i favorite form of amusement. amuse-ment. The appeal is denied and the ordr of the local and district boards af-Urnicd. af-Urnicd. Order to Apply Immediately. Professional baseball players of draft ace must work or rc-.it immediately, and tin.- dra r'l reula tions may bo changed soon to mrlude Cicatrical performers and moving picture players and employees among those who must seek new jobs or face induction into the army. Secret arv l laker, in an unqualified decision de-cision holding he game a non-productive occupation, said, so far from amending the rcgula tion to exempt ball players, be belie veil the soope of its provisions "should so enlarged as ro include other classes of persons whose professional occupation oc-cupation is so Ud y tha: of entertaining." 1 ,c i ; i mate t hen t rieal pc rf ormers were speoiriea'.ly exempted in the original work or fight ore. or Of the provost marshal general, arid a recent ruling placed in this class actors and skiVed men employed in producing moving pictures. No st.Uemcpt vas forthcoming as to ins: what steps wiil be taken to meet Mr. taker's view that tlie scope of the work or tight regulation should be enl lrged. I erection ot properties, useless and un- 1 profitable unless permitted to be con- l mm d in the use- for which they were S erect".!; and that the application of the regulations to members of prot'es- clonal baseball t ea tus w ould so far ) disorganize this business as to ule- siro it and render this property teni- por.Lt'ily aluoless. i That tlie occupat ion of a pro- I fesM'-mal baseball piaye:- icpiires a er high deg;ee of specialized t-ain- j ing and skill, procurable onlv by a : .substantially exclusive iloot'ion" of 1 the time of persons aspiring to ho- i eomo professional piaj ers. so that ( there- Is rot much hkehhcvd ot such t pUyery having another available oc-3 oc-3 cupatton or titpCNS for any otlier oc-, oc-, cuwuuni. it all aiieuute in its returns re-turns iv maintam for thcrpsclves and tlieir families the- standani of P. mg K wh.h has been ctabiisbev? on tbo 3 ea minus in their professional cccu- ' pattons. ' S. "I'hat baball has been accepted I as t'-o national sport of the poor to of :l the I'mted 8'ates; that it ait'orvis - wholesome outdoor relaxation and en- ii jomort to large nunhers of the American people and is to many work- 1 f-r ami busmess men of the I r.ited ' States almost the only opportunity for ! t such reciKion, sx tha; to bnrc alw.t t x he . ess;v.;on of professional baseball work! work a social and irdustr Kvm far out of p-oixr:ioa to the nr. Vita Vi-ta '-y loss involved by the exemption of ;' tht li:;utcd nuntbor of nhi vw-s ; Question. ; Fkiker's Viewpoints. 1 I'pon each of th.e t:v,:'K'.s se:v-t se:v-t rate co:i)t:itvu is appropriate. As to the i;:ts:: 'The s:t::.vtion of rrvnessjonai basebail c.::Tcrs ip nowise no-wise front other civilian peace'-t::ne : h::s;r.ess W-ich by reason of t e stress of war and its deataa is turn the irdustr-.es and energy of t' e coi:n-1 coi:n-1 Try nuist N1 content to bear v.Ki:ever ' b':r1-n is i-rveosecl by tonixr.rv al ' activity. While the nan-ber o-' -tie--aftected by the order m.iv be s-i.'i -t,.-'i to aiwiTWnise the business, n-anv of t'-e iilayers are bev-vr. the p-esent draft .tse and it is bv no - x-; x-; ;vin wt!,at ,x'";!'it d:sorcin:i.it.on o' the business would fellow a.lacreace r0 the order as nvide. As to t!te second: Rasebatr pi -.--crs " men cf unusual physical '-i-'y dexterity and. alertness. it hi :-oe-i neeesary for us in this cocn-rv to iustitute provesea of taii iuduiutal 1 ; ! |