The confidence of the American public in the honesty with which professional baseball is conducted ought not to be permanently shaken by the revelations which come from the grand jury room in Chicago. Two members of the Chicago Club of the American League have confessed that they accepted bribes to "throw" games in the world's series last year. These men and six others who were members of the club at the time have been indicted. But it is to be remembered that no suspicion attaches to the great majority of the league ball players. The men involved in the present scandal are a handful in the baseball army. The misdeeds to which two of them have confessed, and with which the others are charged, may be regarded as exceptions to the general rule.

These men were subjected to a temptation that was too much for them. They were beset by a dishonest crew whose members dangled before their eyes the promise of "easy money". In very many instances ball players have resisted such blandishments. They know that crookedness in ball playing cannot long be covered up. The "fans" who crowd the stands in the ball parks are experts in the strategy and the technique of the game. They cannot be fooled in the long run. No dishonest scheme could long escape detention. It is significant in this connection that gossip was busy soon after the games in question were played, and it was a case where the smoke of gossip was followed by the discovery of the fire.

Charles A. Comiskey, the "owner" of the White Sox, has promptly suspended the seven indicted men now members of the club. In so doing he has virtually wrecked the team which it has cost him years of labor to build up; he has practically for felted his chances of winning the pennant this year, and has faced the prospect of heavy financial loss. Mr. comiskey did not hesitate to take the honorable course, regardless of the effect upon his own fortunes. He has enjoyed the confidence of the devotees of the game, and he has heightened that confidence by his course in this emergency. His action will tend to restore public confidence in the essential honesty of baseball. Courtesy of Boston Transcript.