Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 202, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 September 1918 — BAT FACTORY NOW IN FRANCE [ARTICLE]

BAT FACTORY NOW IN FRANCE

Demand Is Far Greater Than SupplyDifficulty in Obtaining Proper Kind of Wood. There is a baseball bat shortage in France and our boys “over there” have nobody to blame but themselves. The trouble is that they have developed such Benny Kauff wallops that the bats are splintered faster than they can be shipped from America. The Y. M. C. A. has been sending them over by the thousands, but the demand is far greater than the supply, A bat shortage is a serious thing, for the figltflng man. back from the trenches for a breathing Spell, finds nothing so restful as a good, fast game of ball. To solve the problem the Y. M. C. A. has erected a factory in France and is turning out a bat which, while not as good as the “made-ln-America” brand, is helping to fill the bill. The difficulty has been to get the proper kind of wood, but the head of the factory Is exp<*rhnenting with various varieties and expects to find the right thing.