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Show BUSHER RULE DIES; MOST CLUB OWNERS PLEASED AT DEATH National Commission Order Puts Ewing's Pet Scheme Out of Business; Transparent Plan for Evasion Suggested, but Not Likely to Be Adopted, Since Magnates Already Feel Effects of Unwholesome Un-wholesome Legislation. ONCE mors we have the four-busher rule or, rather, we haven't, pot it. It looks very much as though the foiir-hutihor rule Is about to be classified among the la to un-lumftnleil, un-lumftnleil, and it is confidently asserted that an ordinary wash tub will be of more than ample capacity to hold the tears that will he shed at Its demise outside of Pal Kwinff's office. Not Ionk ago t lie national commission decided a case coining befoifi it from the Muscat I ne. club of the Central association, associa-tion, which decision had a direct hearing1 on the Coast league rule. It appears that the Central association had an agreement agree-ment to the effect that no club should carry more than five veterans. Muscatine Mus-catine violate! the rule ami t,he league 1 1 new out feome of its games. Thereupon There-upon Muscatine appealed to the national association, which Is the organization that tries to run minor league affairs unsuccessfully, it is true. Of con rue, this body decided against the individual and in favor of the league the national association as-sociation has a peculiar habit of alwava being on the side of the apparent! v stronger. Warning to Leagues. Muscatine tool; an appeal to the national na-tional commission, the highest tribunal in organized hayehall, and Muscatine not only won hands down, but also drew from the naiional com mission a stern warning to all minor leagues that it would not stand for that particular kind of blacklisting of ball players. When ihe derision was called to the attention of President Bnum or' the Coast league, Mr. Raum hastened to reiterate the oft-reiterated statement that the national na-tional commission ruling would not affect any rule the Coast league might adopt, the, buy her rule included. That was the Coast league's own business, said Mr. Raum, and nobody could dictate to the Coast league how it should run its own business no. si ree. Some of the magnates of the Coast league promptly rushed forward with their cherished solution of all Coast league problems, to "close the parks." Vesterda v tho colors of Coast league skies changed. Thev changed to a remarkable re-markable degree, in fact. Aspect Is Changed. The full text of the national commission's commis-sion's ruling arrived and with it arrived warning, couched In direct language, that the Coast league would best watch out how it proceeded to put into effect that plan of K wing's. Following upon the heels of the derision came from Coast leas-uo headquarters a hold, but transparent, trans-parent, plan of evading the national commission's ruling. The plan -was that t he pla ver limit should be reduced to fourteen men and this roster should be supplemented, on the strength of a "gentlemen's agreement." bv four bustiers. Seemiimly tha t scheme might successfully success-fully circumvent the clear intent of the commission's ruling, but it is sufe to say that It isn't going to be adopted. Looks Different Now. Since Kwing slipped over his four-oushe.r four-oushe.r rule at the league meeting in Salt lake, a majority of the magnates who voted for it "oh, just because F.w ing wanted it," have been, encountering a vast number of stumbling blocks In "attempting "at-tempting to pather together their club? The four husher s simply will not dove-t;nl dove-t;nl in, proving that an alluring theory which looks good in a comfortable room at the Hotel Itah bears a. different aspect when it is attempted to put it to a practical test. Kwing. of course, no doubt will make a fight for his rule. It is characteristic of Kwing. that rule. It means cheap baseball, and "economy" has alwavs been Kwing's guiding star. The busher rule ' is worthy the cenius . of the man who I pulled t he Greatest fiasco in the history of Coast lea cue baseball, when he built a !all nark in the fog belt and had to abandon It the following year because the ; players couldn't see the ball, tho patrons couldn't see the players, and all of them almost froze to death every afternoon. A Joke, Says McCredie. President Murphy of the Salt Lake club is not altogether in sympathy with the four-busher rule as a compulsory measure. Mr. Murphy is Inclined to believe that the club owners will be eager enough without a fixed rule to take on young blood,1 but it is pretty plain that the Salt Lake proxy is not keen for being compelled com-pelled to carry four inexperienced players when his club needs some experienced men and needs them sorely. Walter MeCrecdie, Portland manager, let the cat out of the bag a little further, when, according to a dispatch from Portland, Port-land, lie intimated that nobody ever expected ex-pected to follow the four-busher rule anyhow any-how that Is, anybody except a chump. "If the rule is wiped off the records," McCreedie is quoted as saying, "it will make one rule less on the programme for some of the other club owners to break." Evidently McCredie, having in mind the elasticity of the salarv limit rule, is not much impressed with rules solemnly adopted hy the league directors. Indications are that when the league directors meet at San Francisco next week (hey will take steps to wash awav thc official record of the busher rule and In its place adopt a resolution to the effect ef-fect that "Mt is the sense of this meetinc that wo shall encourage the practice of employing young ball players." Such a resolution would be wholly i nocuous, would hurt nobody, would mean nothing and consequently would remove the necessity ne-cessity for "closing the parks" for the fifth or sixth time thus far this season. Commission's Ruling. The pertinent paragraphs in the commission's com-mission's ruling follow: The sole reason for the commission's commis-sion's intervention in this matter is in regard to its duty "to construe and carry out the terms and provisions of the national agreement." As re c i t e d in pa r a g ra p h 2 of its preamble, one of the objects of the agreement is: "Promotion of the welfare wel-fare of ball players as a class and perfecting them in the profession and enabling them to receive adequate compensation for expertness." This enactment applies equally to the player who is advancing in his profession, as It is manifestly unjust and unfair to the vet era n player to permit a major or minor league to practically boycott him because of his length of service in organized ball. The adoption and enforcement of a player limit for each team and fixing a maximum salary for the individual player is in compliance with section 5, Art. VI of the agreement. The disbarment by a league of a player, solely because of bis connection connec-tion in former years with clubs of hie her classification, provided he Is J willing to sign ithin the individual i salary limit of the league, is contrary ! to the letter and spirit of the agreement agree-ment and a league that enacts and enforces such rule shoifld and will not be permitted to enjoy the privileges privi-leges and benefits of the agreement. The commission holds that the onlv tests that should bo applied in the engagement of a minor league player are his willingness to play for a salary sal-ary within the prescribed limit of the club, and his eligibility to contract. ; Any other restrictions imposed by league legislation are , arbi t r?ry and subversive to the agreement rights of the player and therefore mil! and void. The national association officials and memhers wilt be held to strict account ac-count by ihe commission if this ruling is not respected and enforced. |