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Show Gamblers Still Trying To Edge Into Baseball By TOMMY CLARK. A NUMBER of race track gamblers, gam-blers, finding that they aro unable to do business at tho different race tracks In this country', have now turned their attention atten-tion to baseball very strongly, and there has been a noticeable Increase In betting at tho ball parks In Dotrolt, Boston, Philadelphia. Chicago and Pittsburg this season In fact, in the first two cities named the gambling element has been so prominent that President Ban Johnson of the American Ameri-can league recently sent out a bulletin i) every magnate In tho Junior organization organ-ization calling attention to the prevalence preva-lence of betting and asking each club owner to enforce to the lett,cr the bec-tlon bec-tlon In the constitution prohibiting betting Not alone this, but ho haa Informed In-formed the police departments of the different cities of gambling on the games Ban figures that in order to discourage the gamblers It may be necessary to place undor arrest every person caught making bets at a ball park. It has" been said that there Is a lot of betting in New York, but the betting done In New York Is nothing compared to what Is done at Pittbburg, In New York your neighbor may say, "I'll bet you $2 that tho New Yorks get off In front and stay there," or if thero Is a man near you who Is a rooter for the visiting team you will get sore because he Is rooting against you and bet him $5 that ho Is rooting for a "dead one," or vice versa. Now, this is not tho betting evil that Ban Johnson refers to. He Is hitting at a bookmaking element. Ho has learned that "booking" is being done on tho games in Chicago and in Detroit. De-troit. Ho also knows that Pittsburg has an clement that "books" on every game. What he fears is that If measures meas-ures are not taken at onco to stamp out this evil the bookmakers will in-vado in-vado tho baseball parks, and If this comes to pass It won't be long beforo the game will bo In bad repute. Last spring tho gamblers attempted to make a book on tho two pennant races Odds wero published on tho different teams, hut tho government soon put them out of business. Acting on a request from Ban Johnson recently, recent-ly, tho Detroit police began a campaign against gambling- on ball games. On the first day they found a dozen or more places whoro boards gllng odds were shown and books made on "various "vari-ous games. Many years ago betting camo near killing baseball, for It becamo known that some of the ball players wero in league with tho gamblors. throwing the games or trying to win them, as tho betting demanded Tho managers, fer-rotlng fer-rotlng out the guilty ones, blacklisted them and then framed rules to safeguard safe-guard tho gamo against a repetition of tho scandal. How well they succeeded Is best told by the- great popularity of the game todayu for baseball has grown and developed until It is indeed the great national pastime, equaled by no other gamo that was ever invented. Baseball Just suits tho American ' ' outh. It Is full of action, requires exceptional ex-ceptional ability on tho part of a player play-er to become a star and yet can bg plajed by almost any one regardless ol mental attainments or even phjs.lcal Imperfections It Is, In fact, a game H that is universal and suited to all H tastes, bo it cither as participant or M spectator. It Is because of this fact M that the crowds at the ball grounds M grow larger and larger each year, while M the number of boys and young men M who play tho game during their orf M time from school or shop Increases M with each season M Tho enthusiasm that is worked up M In- a community that has a winning M ball team, ono that stands at the head tM of the league or association in which 'WM It is entered, Is simply wonderful Ev- ' M crybody talks baseball In season and M out, and the greatest punishment that M could bo inflicted on ono of these M "fans" would bo to render It impossl- M bio for him to cither see tho games or M hear tho result of tho contest. , M But. great as Is the Interest now felt fl in baseball, the patronage would quick- B ly fade away wero the gamblera to H again get in touch with tho players H and be ablo to control the results Ev- H ery baseball man knows this, and the H magnates try hard to keep down the H betting ovll on ball grounds But they M do not always try hard enough, as Is H proved by the fact that betting Is still M carried on to an extent that Is post- H tively dangerous. H |