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Show MINOR LEAGUES AWfflJTOlE NEW YORK, March 19. Minor league magnates are awaiting with unusual un-usual interest the. ontcomo of tho meeting of the International league, scheduled to bo held in this city on Monday, March 26. The conference will bo the second since the. annual meeting of tho league was adjourned lato in December. It is expected that at tho coming session the club owners will decide definitely whether the organization or-ganization will continue its circuit during tho season of 1918, or abandon play for the duration of the war. Such evidence as is available in advance would appear to indicate that tho league will operate this summer. Several of the club Qwners have clearly intimated that they are opposed op-posed to a continuation of play under the present unsettled conditions incidental inci-dental to the war. Others stand ready to back baseball for another season at least, but just which side will hold the majority vote cannot be stated before the day of the meeting. If it is decided de-cided to discontinue the schedule there is a bare possibility that one or more of the clubs will fonn a new league by joining hands with other city combinations, which have in past seasons sea-sons been a part of lower classification classifica-tion circuits. A decision on the part of the International Inter-national league to drop out would be a severe blow to organized baseball, for the association is one of tho pioneers among tho minor leagues and a steady and important factor in the development develop-ment of the game and of players for major league circuits. The league was organized in 1892 and continued without with-out a break until the close of the 1917 season. During the initial year a two-season two-season schedule was played, but since 1892 the pennant race has been along tho lines of the majors. Providence, with six championship : pennants to its credit, leads all the citis which have at various times held membership in the organization. Roch- ester comes next with five, and Buf- faio and Toronto are tied with four , each, while Binghampton, Erio, Syra- ' cuso, Springfield, Montreal, Jersey City, Baltimore and Newark have each captured ono titular flag. Tho outcome of the conference Is likely to have a distinct bearing upon the decision of other minor leagues in relation to their plans for the coming season. Several of these organizations are in rather an uncertain frame of mind regarding the financial outlook for baseball on the smaller circuits during 191S, and aro likely to be swayed to some extent by the example set by the International league club owners. Up to the present time loss than half of leagues which began tho 1917 season have prepared and promulgated pro-mulgated their schedules for 1918. Even under the most favorable conditions con-ditions it Is not expected that there 1 will be the same number of organizations organiza-tions operating as was tho case twelve months ago. Tho records shofr that some twenty-three leagues opened tho season a year ago and that about 75 per cent played through tho season or the major portion of the same. In 11916 twenty-four leagues were in op- oration and the year previous the number num-ber was five more, whilo In 191-1 the lists show moro than forty leagues in the various classifications throughout the country. oo FORMER SALT LAKER IS DEAD IN IDAHO RIGBY, Ida,, March 19. Mrs. Hes-sie.W. Hes-sie.W. Johnson, wife of A. T. Johnson, John-son, 37 years of age, died at tho family fam-ily residenco in Rigby Sunday night Mrs. Johnson was tho daughter of John N. White, 823 Green street, Salt Lake City, Utah, and, besides her father fath-er the following relatives survive her: Her husband and four children; her mother, Mrs. John N. White; John W. Whito and Alvin B. White, who are residents of Salt Lake City; Mrs. I. W. Parry of Cedar City, Utah, and Earl N. Whito of Rigby. Mrs. Johnson was born in Salt Lake and resided there until fifteen years ago, when she and her husband moved to Rigby, where Mr. Johnson engaged in business. The funeral will bo held in tho L. D. S. chapel in Rigby Wednesday Wed-nesday afternoon. oo " TELEGRAPH RATE HIGHER. ROME, Fob. 28.-(Mail.) Foreign telegraph rates have been increased S 40 per cent oVing to tho depreciation ' of Italian money, a dollar bringing ai exchange of 8 lire and a half insteac of five lire beforo'the war. oo 100 PER CENT GRATIFICATION. "It mu$t be graLlfying to see youi jokes copied everywhere." "What gratifies mo most," said the professional humorist,. "is that somebody some-body is willing to buy 'em in tho firsl place." Louisville Courier-Journal. on . |