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Show T Te " LV1 e r I IWNe WNe S . , | While Walter Wuichell Wmchell Wmchellis n is awaythis away | this month hu his column will be con conducted conI ducted by guest columnists columnistsBy columnistsBy By BABE RUTH RUTHAs RUTHAs RUTHAi ( ( As Told to Ben Epstein EpsteinSPOTts EpsteinSports EpsteinSports SPOTts Sports Writer Wnter ) ) ' I'm Im ' for the Kids ! The government national and andmunIcipal andmunicipal andmunicipal munIcipal Is throwing throwmg the kids ldds of ofAmerica ofAmerica ofAmerica America a curvet curvetDon curve ' Don t get me wrong The old Babe Babehasn Babehasp Babehasn hasn hasp t fallen tor for one of those phon.v phonv phony phon.visms phonyisms phonyIsms . isms I like my United States the theway theway theway way they started it The guys who whowrote whowrote whowrote wrote the Constitution were no bush bushers bushers bushers ers They won a pennant their flrst first flrsttI"l1e firsttine firsttme tI"l1e tIl1e tine " out and this country has been beenin beenin beenin in first place ever since That s sclass sclass sclass class no morn ng glory record Thekind The Thekmd Thekind kmd kind that knocked off the Nazis With WiththeIr withtheir withtheir theIr hidden ball tricks and lIke lIkewise likewise likewise wise sky hiked the Japs to their an ancestors ancestors ancestors ancestorsWith cestors cestorsWith With Elsenhower Eisenhower Halsey and Mac MacArthur MacArthur MacArthur Arthur hitting hittmg in the clean up spots spotsthe spotsthe spotsthe the World Scries Scnes Series is a c nch That s a swhy awhy swhy why you and I are proud of our 48 48States 48States 48States States setup Three hundred plus hit hitters hittens hitters ters tens from top to bottom supported supportedby supportedby by a double play combo sound soundcatching soundcatching soundcatching catching and fast outfield that knows knowshow knowshow knowshow how to handle handJe sneak attacks I m no nomilitary nomilitary nomilitary military expert but in war as In Inbaseball inbaseball inbaseball baseball you must be strong down downthe downthe downthe the middleWhat middle middleWhat middleWhat What has all this got to do With Withthe withthe withthe the Government taking a potshot potshotperhaps potshotperhaps potshotperhaps perhaps innocently at the kIds kids7Simply ? ' Simply this It has completely for forgotten forgotten forgotten gotten themYep themYep them themYep Yep I know the diamonds are stIll stIllthere stillthere stillthere there and nobody is bothering bothermg the thekids thekids thekids kids That s the trouble No one Is Isbothered isbothered isbothered bothered over the tact fact that they are areplaying areplaying areplaying playing with broom sticks and balls ballsmade ballsmade ballsmade made out of a synthet c somethIng somethIngThis somethingThis somethingThis This is the situation in m New York Yorkand Yorkand Yorkand and no doubt the same m In other othercIties othercities othercities cIties It s both depress ng and andalarm andalarm andalarm alarm ng Not only to the future of ofbaseball ofbaseball ofbaseball baseball and other sports but more moreimportant moreimportant moreImportant important the moral and physIcal physIcalwelfare physicalwelfare physicalwelfare welfare of our future cItizens cItizensS citizensStWDUST citizensSIWDUST StWDUST S \ WDUST FILLED F1LLID : BAS BASEBALLS BASEBALLSI BALLS BALLSI I know materials that ord nar nanly narily y go gointo gointo goInto into the making makmg of sports athletic athleticeqUipment athleticequipment athleticequipment eqUipment were necessary for guns gunsShIPS gunsships gunsships ShIPS planes etc I say they could couldbe couldbe couldbe be made without let up and take takeheat takeheat takeheat heat off the kids It s up to the law lawmakers lawmakers lawmakers makers How ? Simply by freezIng freezIngthe freezingthe freezingthe the many so called ess essentials ntIals It Itseems Itseems Itseems seems to me that some of the manu manufacturcrs manufacturers manufacturers facturcrs facturers continue to make useless uselessgadgets uselessgadgets uselessgadgets gadgets tor for the grown ups whounderstand whounderstand who whounderstand understand Personally I would wouldsacrifice wouldsacrifice wouldsacrifice sacrifice my shoes if I thought it itmeant itmeant itmeant meant the eliminat elunmat on of sawdust sawdustnow sawdustnow sawdustnow now stuffing what is now called a abaseball abaseball abaseball abaseballIf baseball baseballI baseballIf If I ! its it s one thing thmg I know its it s the themake themake themake make up of the average kid I ve ye vebuddled yebuddied vebuddied buddled buddied with thousands of em from fromcoast fromcoast fromcoast coast to coast but let s keep home homeruns homeruns homeruns runs out of the column Their Ian Ianguage Ianguage language guage is playing playmg games withequ WIth WIthequ withequ equ pment made out of durable durablestuff durablestuff durablestuff stuff With such baseballs gloves glovesand glovesand glovesand and bladders unava unavailable able he gradu gradually gradually gradually ally dr drifts ts to the corners where he hefigures hefigures hefigures figures it s more rntere mtere-iting mtere iting mtere.tmg mteretmg . - ting Have Haveyou Haveyou Haveyou you noticed the rise in juvenile de delInquency delinquency dehnquency lInquency lately7 lately lately7Right ? ' Right now the only playable base baseballs baseballs baseballs balls good tor for an inning or more moreare moreare moreare are being manufactured for the pro professlOnal professionals professionals fesslOnal fessionals I suppose that OrganIzed OrganIzedBaseball OrganizedBaseball OrganizedBaseball Baseball is doing the best it can All AB Allballs ABballs Allballs balls fouled fouJed into mto the stands are aredonated aredonated aredonated donated to members of the armed armedforces armedforces armedforces forces I endorse that idea Certain Certainly Certainly Certainly ly the soldiers and sailors need rec recreatIon recreation recreation reatIon . . . But that brings bnngs me rIght rIghtback rightback rightback back to where I started What about aboutthe aboutthe aboutthe the kids ? What about the kids and future futureof futureof futureof of baseball7 baseball ? ' The kids mind you are arethe arethe arethe the ! life le blood of the game And If Ifthe ifthe ifthe the game doesn t come to the aid of ofthe ofthe ofthe the kids baseball will strangle it itsell itself itself sell self with its own hands Today ma major major major jor league competition is a Class D Dstandard Dstandard Dstandard standard The majority of players playerswho playerswho playerswho who return from the service WIll WIllbe willbe willbe be passe passeComebacks Comebacks for them is a rough as asSignment assrgnment asBignment Signment srgnment The gap is big Hank HankGreenberg HankGreenberg HankGreenberg Greenberg is gamily gamLly trying trymg to beat beatthe beatthe beatthe the rap and you can see from his hisbattmg hisbatting hisbatting battmg batting average the going gomg is tough- tough toughalmost toughalmost tough toughalmost - almost too tough But gritty serVIce serVIceguys serviceguys serviceguys guys like Hank should make it it . . . Night play which I tagged as an anout anout anout out and out mockery of baseball m in mthIS inthis inthis thIS same space last year just about aboutrubs aboutrubs aboutrubs rubs out the kid for keeps SensIble SensIbleparents Sensibleparents Sensibleparents parents will put him hlffi to bed where he hebelongs hebelongs hebelongs belongs but won t improve h s base baseball baseball baseball ball education Meanwhile the own owners ownens owners ers ens are tai fa\ fa fat faorIng \ onng orIng fatter schedules un under under under der the arcs which also makes makesCENTS makesCENTS makesCENTS CENTS Occasional games under the thelIghts thelights thelights lIghts say between 7 and 14 per sea season season season son is okay tor for the sake of noveltyIt noveltyIf novelty If the owners play every night ex except except except cept Sunday - how are they going goingto goingto goingto to replenish when the present crop cropof cropof cropof of Class Ds run out ? The reason I grabbed a el cl ct ance ante to tomanage tomanage ! manage the Eastern teams m In the theEsqUire theEsquire theEsquire EsqUire all American boys game is isbecause isbecause isbecause because I will be able to be WIth WIththem withthem withthem them tor for a week-seven week seven week - seven days with a agang agang agang gang of kids I plan to cram in as asmuch asmuch asmuch much teaching as I can You d be besurprised besurprised besurprised surprised how 1 ttle the some of them themknow themknow themknow know about inside baseball For eJ ex example example . ample At a baseball school in Flor FlorIda FlorIda FlorIda Ida some Springs Sprmgs ago I thought I Ihad Ihad Ihad had discovered another second secondbaseman secondbaseman secondbaseman baseman on the order of Charley CharleyGehringer CharleyGehringer CharleyGehringer Gehringer That is I did until unW J 1 Jreal1zed 1realised 1realized real1zed realised he didn dldn t know he was supposed sup supposed . po posed ed to cover second base . , \ |