HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1951-01-25, Page 6Our old friend Charley the Chalk -
eater is out with a real grievance;
and those in power on Capitol (fill,
Queens Park and other seats of
Government had beite; have a cure.
Better have a couple of cares, in
fact. History shows that the com-
mon people can be pushed around
and manhandled to such an extent
that it begins to look as if they will
• hold still for almost anything. Then,
without warning, comes a point
where they pin back their ears,
and rebel. And, according to Char-
ley the Chalk -eater, that point has
currently been reached.
T
(Before going into details, per-
haps we had better explain—for the
benefit of those (4 hose early edu-
cation was neglected—the meaning
of our friend Charley's tag. "Chalk -
eater" derives from the days when
race -track betting was done, not by
machinery, but through the medium
of bookmakers, who used chalk to
mark up the odds on their slates.
And a chalk -eater was a man who,
if he saw a horse priced at ten to
one, would refuse to invest but
who, if he saw the odds on that
same steed slide down to even
money or less, would trample down
women and children in his niad rush
to wager everything he owned.)
k r
"Solneth:ng has just plaint got to
be clone about these rising prices,"
quoth Charlie, when we last met up
with him. "Yon would th:nk this
Premier Sam Lawrence or what-
ever you call him would have better
sense. First thing he knows along
will come another election, and all
us guys will be voting for this
George Drew, and he will be out
on his car."
* 0 *
"Just what has happened now,
Charley?" we asked. "We haven't
heard of anything unusual coming
off lately."
* * *
"I fun not such a guy as is al-
ways belly -aching and complain-
ing," continued Charley, who is a
plan of few words, but uses those
few very often. "When they raised
the price of bread, do you hear me
holier? They shove up the price of
coffee from a nickel to a dime a
mug, and I don't say a thing. Same
way with beek-steak, groceries, any-
thing you like to mention. Why,
when they cut down the size of the
beer -glasses, and tack on an extra
two or four bits on the price of a
crock I hardly moan above a whis-
per. I just say to myself, Well,
I suppose we got to have such
things as a Government, although
I do not know why; and if the
cost of governing is going up, I
guess us poor suckers just natural-
ly got to pay for it.' Still, there's
a limit to everything. When they
go upping the most vitalest neces-
sities of life, there's going to be
trouble, and you can tell them I
said so."
* *
"But, Charley, you still haven't
told us what you're talking about,"
we insisted. "Just what are you
talking about?"
*
ifYou call yourself a writer, and
don't know that?" said Charley dis-
gustedly. Starting tomorrow we'll
have to pay thirty-five cents a
copy for The Daily Racing Form.
THIRTY-FIVE CENTS, MIND
YOU, AND I CAN REMEMBER
WHEN YOU COULD GET IT
FOR A DIME. If those lugs down
in Ottawa don't get busy with some
price controls right away, there's
going to be a revolutionary or some-
thing, they needn't try and make out
I didn't warn them."
* * *
In a planner that must be the des-
pair ui even the highest -geared pub-
licity experts, the sport of baseball
,has a way of getting space in the
sports columns $urainer, Winter,
Spring and Fall. if there were any.
Vlore seasons, it would doubtless
still be to the fore.
Right now, when all the man-
agers have been tired. the new ones
hired and promised that 'we'll have
a hustling team this year", live
baseball news is rather scarce; so
now collies the bailutting for the—
if anyone—is to be elected to Base-
ball's Hall of Fane. In bis New
York 'Tittles column Arthur Daley
has some interesting things to say
about this ballotring—and we quote
Mr. Daley as follows:
The door to the Baseball Iiall of
Fame operates like a door control-
led by a electric eye which has gone
out of whack. The clang thing just
won't open nohow. Every year at
this time a ballot arrives in the mail
from the indefatigable secretary of
the Baseball Writers Association.
ICenesaw Mountain Snaith, who has
been trying to resign as secretary
for twenty years only to have the
boys ignore him. The frustruated
and unretired Smitty dispatches his
ballots to the electorate and noth-
ing happens. No candidate gets
elected.
* a
The press box tenants again fail-
ed to agree last year by the re-
qu'red 75 per cent ratio on any
candidate for the Valhalla in Coop-
erstown. Melvin Thomas Ott, -a
midget slugger who played at being
a Giant, came closest and almost
got one foot on the threhold. He
drew 115 votes. He needed 126 to
be elected. The door was slammed
in his face. This meant that fifty-
two baseball writers, fellows who
supposedly know what they are do
ing, didn't think _Master Malvin
rated a niche among the diamond
immortals. 'What's the matter with
those guys anyways?
4k k g
Why Ottie didn't land in Coop-
erstowns on the very first bounce
will remain an unfathomable mys-
tery to this reporter. He has every-
thing in his favor. The stocky little
fellow is the undisputed home -run
king of the National League, third
in rank on the all-time lists to Babe
Ruth and Jimmy Foxx. He holds a
bushel basket full of records. He
was an exceptionally fine fielder
and had one of the strongest,mlead-
liest of throwing arms.. As an a11 -
around player he rates ahead of lots
of those already in the Hall of Fame
Master Melvin even has running in
his favor the not unimportant item -
of popularity. Admittedly the elec-
tion to Cooperstown is not a pop-
ularity contest but those writers
who let their emotions rule them,
vote for those they lake, by-passing
those they dislike. But Ottie came
close to being No, 1 in the effections
of the press box tenants. His pop-
ularity was—and is—immense.
5' * ,1
If he doesn't make it this time,
there should be a Congressional in-
vestigation, His names goes first
on my ballot.
* i
Let's not drop that popularity
business until we've discussed the
second of the ten names that the
ballot demands. Bill Terry enjoyed
not. even a fraction of Ottie's pop-
ularity. Few typewriter pounders
regarded him as a pin-up boy. Most
of them hated him. However, there
has been a noticeable change in re-
cent. years. Old hatreds burned
themselves out and Terry, the ball
player, began coming into his oVvn
on the basis of sheer performance,
PLASTIC
CLOTHESPIN
210„4 vicsa MAKE PENCIL HOLDER FOR
DRAWER JNTERIOR SY
CUTTINc:7 DOWN TWO PLASTIC CLOTHESPINS AND
TTACHNST PRON TO DRAWER SNIDE WITH SHORT
In The 'Wake Of War—Bewildered Korean war orphans, some
with tears in their eyes, wait in the fuselage of a giant C-54
transport for evacuation from Seoul to a haven in Southern
Korea. One thousand of these children were taken out by air
while thousands of others, old as well as young, Tilade their
way south th4 hest way they could, usually afoot.
The Repentant Driver
"I've been at the hospital,£or the past hour waiting and
praying—praying as I have never done before. For if the little
fellow they brought here doesn't recover --then, Cod help me—
I'm a murderer..
"Sure, the police treasured the tire marks and no charge is
being laid—but if 'that tow -haired youngster -doesn't live, I've
killed hint just as surely as if I'd put a pistol to his head and
pulled the trigger.
"Several people who saw the whole thing say I'd no chance
to avoid him. I know better. Common sense should have warned
me that besides the group of kids who scattered when I blew
the horn, there might be one or two others hiding between the
parked cars. Surely I, with kids of my own, should have been
prepared for the unexpected actions of a youngster happily
paying, unaware of his danger. My young Billie and -Sally
have given the plenty of lessons about children's behaviour but
when it came to the real test, I ignored them—had a meeting to
attend after supper and was in a flurry to get home.
"Did you ever see a sturdy little chap, lying quite still,
one leg bent grotesquely under him, blood oozing from his head
I'm thinking of his acant chair at the table, his rumpled bed,
his torn britches, the scuffed shoes that led hien to so many
exciting adventures. I'm thinking of the elan he might have
been—perhaps a great surgeon. scientist or engineer. Countless
lives might have been saved by his skill. It's not pleasant to
think that I, in rather .an indirect way, am responsible for their
fate too.
"I don't think I'll ever drive. again. Probably I will as time
goes on. But right now I don't want to see that shining mon-
ster that used to get so much attention. Sure it's a good car
with good brakes and so on—but a car can be only as safe as
the fellow who drives it.
"Waiting and pra,rlt.g—it seems' like days I've been sitting
here, not just minutes. Soon I'll know.. They've taken the
young lad to the operating room. There's not a thing I can do
but wait and pray—wait and pray. Oh, please make everything
all right."
Such unpleasant thoughts 'could be experienced by you,
if you are not careful. CHILDREN SHOULD BE SEEN—
NOT HURT.
m
Every year his vote gathering
increased until he reached second
to Ott in last January's final tab-
ulation. Terry was truly a magni-
ficent first baseman. Who was
better? Lou Gehrig and George
Sister? Maybe. •But you can get a
good argument on it. After all,
Terry was a superb fielder. He had
a lifetime . batting average of .341
and had a one year high of ' .401.
This reporter firmly believes that
any .400 hitter automatically rates
Cooperstown. Terry belongs by
any and all measurements.
* * *
Who was the best catcher that
ever lived? Again you'll get argu-
ments. But none will dispute who
were the best two catchers. All
•agree on Mickey Cochrane and
Bill Dickey, But Black Mike al-
ready has been elected to the Hall
of Fame. Since this pair can't be
split on performance, Dickey should
be moved to an equal pedestal with
Cochrane. His is the third name on
this ballot.
0 *
The fourth name must go to
Tames Emory Foxx, the most mus-
cular candidate of them all. Only
Ruth bit more homers than Double -
X and it is to be doubted that even
the Bambino could clout a longer
ball. Foxx it is.
'1:
These annual elections are limi-
ted to ball players who operated in
the previous quarter century. This
one includes those from 1925 on.
That indicates that the flock is be-
ginning to run out on Barry Heil -
mann, -one of the greater+ of all
right-handed hitters. He'd better
hurry or he'll never make it. The
Detroit slugger had the odd habit
of winning batting championships
in odd -numbered years—with ,394
in 1921, with .403 in 1923 and with'
,393 in 1925. Does he rate? His
lifetime average of .342 indit;ates
that he does. .
r,,
How about another right-hander
powerhouse Al Simmons? He has
a lifetime mark of .334 and was a
flawless fielder and fiercest of com-
petitors to boot. He rates entrance.
So does Paul Waner, the midget
trylist, who terrorized pitchers on
the diamond and drove managers
to distraction off it. His lifetime
nark was .333 even though he was
a frail 155 pounder.
4,
One more slugger will round out
our nominations in that department,
Hank Greenberg. Even if his per-
formances didn't rate hint the berth
—which they do --lie belongs for
the simple reason that he's a per-
feet example to the.youth of Ameri-
ca of how far hard work can bring
a hall player. Hank is a self-made
star, one who lifted himself to great-
ness by his own bootstraps.
Whoops! We're running out of
space with room left in the column
and on the ballot for just two mare
names. Here they are, Ted Lyons
and Dizzy Dean.
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