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Show Sporting Life. To have or not to have baseball in Zion next year is now the question which confronts the followers fol-lowers of the game in this city and the excellent chance offered last week to enter a team in the Pacific Northwest league has been and, in fact, is the chief topic of discussion in baseball circles. Salt Lake has the opportunity of a lifetime. The powers that be in the Northwest league have long been desirous of enlarging their territory and have cast google eyes in the direction of this city and Ogden for the past two years in hopes of winning a home in Utah, but all their efforts have availed them nothing more than a pleasant return of amorous glances with the sign of warning warn-ing hung out "Nothing Doing." But the present move bids fair to bring forth results if the general feeling among the fans has any weight. Last Sunday night Jack Huston, the ex-captain of the White Wings, and now the authorized guardian guar-dian of the first cushion on the Butte tean, blew into this burg with a proposition assigned him by President Lucas and Manager McCloskey which, when it was sprung on several of the most prominent promi-nent supporters of the national game in this city, awoke them from the long sleep in which they have been indulging since the Utah league exploded ex-ploded and caused them to rub vigorously their "hop-laden" eyes and see visions of ball fighting in the future which the pills never did produce. As the matter stands at present a deal has been tentatively presented the local fans to frame up an Intermountain and Coast league for next season sea-son to embrace the six teams now making up the Pacific Northwest league: Seattle, Butte, Spokane, Portland, Helena and Tacoma; taking in as additional addi-tional members Salt Lake and Ogden. These cities are all within as easy reach of each other as the way the present Northwest league is made up. For instance, it is much nearer from this city to Portland over the Oregon Short Line than it Is from Butte to Portland over the Northern Pacific, the longest jump the clubs in that league are obliged to take now. A day and part of a night's ride will land either one of the Utah teams in Butte or Portland and from either place it is comparatively compara-tively easy to reach the other cities according to the schedule which is proposed. This eliminates everything in the transportation transporta-tion line except the rate per mile. Last year cer-. cer-. tain parties in this city, acting in conjunction with President Lucas and Manager McCloskey, used their utmost endeavors to form such a league as that which is again proposed. Everything moved along as smoothly as a couple of eels playing play-ing tag on a cake of ice until it came to approaching approach-ing the Short Line on the matter of rates. Then the pipe went out. Try as hard as they might, nothing within reason was offered them. Strong influence was brought to bear. Same result. Finding that the Oregon Short Line officials could not be moved the scheme was declared off. Since that time it is hoped that the railroad company has seen the error of its action and will be slightly more approachable when the next proposition comes up. If such a reasonable mileage can be obtained as that given the clubs in the present Northwest league by the Northern Pacific and other roads in that section there Is every chance in the world of the proposed deal going through successfully. All that remains for the fans to do is to get together and decide on some man, or a body of men, to work the thing up during the interval between the present date and the time between October 15th and the first of November, when President Lucas and Manager McCloskey are expected ex-pected to visit this city and take a rubber at the outlook. If it looks good they will use every effort ef-fort in their power to make the game a sure suc- i IH cess in this State. Three teams, Helena, Butte m 'fl and Spokane, are already greatly in favor of get- ,' M ting the two Utah cities into next year's line-up ,!' ' and the other teams will undoubtedly drop into ! ! the procession so soon as a favorable report is t 'M given from this end of the route. In regard to ' !H the money part of the proposition, it -will only , :M cost Ogden and Salt Lake $500 to have a look-in, I "M this amount being asked for simply as a guarantee M of good faith. The two teams may start next j season with practically nothing in the treasury, t, 'M as the Nprthwesterners already have over $7000 in ' i jfl what they have designated a sinking fund, from '! fl which they are willing to draw from time to time, ' I fl until the two infant teams get on their feet and j begin making money which it is almost an abso- ' lute cinch that they will do before two months of 'H the season has been played, for the same rule " which has been so successful among the northern , j fl teams this year will be in effect next, i. e., each fl team in the organization is assessed 10 per cent ;, fl of the gate receipts of every game played, which '',' t H goes Into the sinking fund, out of which the ex- ff ffl penses of a losing club is paid. fS ' fl 1 jM With a capable manager, men behind the l "fl "money gun" who are thoroughly trustworthy and J fl enjoy the full confidence of the public, and a good ! 'fl team the proposition cannot fail to win out. i'fl John S. Critchlow, the ex-president of the Utah j, fl league, who made such a capable official during , .j fl his short term of service, is the man most promt- J-i jptfl nently mentioned to take charge of the working f -' S up of the deal and meets with the unqualified 'M vfl approval of all the good fans plenty of money, I f Jfl brains and hustle who have signified their in- ' & ffl tention of pushing the new league through. hi Jfl m "iH Beginning Monday night at the saucer track twF ffl the only twenty-four hour race of the year will r j 'fl be started, the contestants to be Johnny Chap- (j fl man, Billy Samuelson and N. C. Hopper, who has 1 1 fl proved to bo the favorite cycle artist at the track. I : ' -fl It will be a battle for blood as Chapman and . ', ifl Samuelson are the bitterest enemies and will use ' ' J jfl every trick known to bicyclists to best the other. ' , j fl Hopper has been overlooked In their squabbling k r jfl and, take the tip. When the finish of the race , tti 9 comes he will be near enough to first place to il' : fljfl cause chills to run up and down the backs of his , i ' fjflfl opponents fast enough to make them turn to ,! ifH steam. t i jfe ijjfl !'f iHfl Salt Lake City is fast gaining an unenviable tlH reputation for bold hold-ups and in nearly every ll'tl vfl instance the perpetrators of these assaults have 1 y flSfl escaped unscathed. K i'fl When one considers the number of bum "pugs" ' HI and "secreteries" with which the tenderloin dls- p& fl tricts are infested, this class of crimes are no f iyjfl longer a source of wonderment. The only marvel HI is that there are so few attempts at highway rob- r'nlflH bery and unless the police get a move on them- r HHI selves and make frequent round-ups of this dis- jfeSB reputable class of thugs crime will continue to 'i'SiiaH stalk rampant in Zion. m 11 This class of degenerates "toil not, neither do fl they spin," and it is an open secret that their good mI 9fl clothes and regular meals must come from one of i,f 'flfl two sources. Either they prey on the unfortu- j' wfl nates of the half town or are the principals in fjij fl the numerous hold-ups which have startled Salt llflflfl Lake during the past few weeks. A rock pile and ilwil ball and chain gang are sadly needed and the -H sooner the police reap a harvest of these dls- reputables the quicker this dangerous element HyJfH will be constrained to move on to other fields. iilfl |