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Show SHOULDIHEY FAIL What a Collapse of the Players' Play-ers' League Would Lead To. M0 DECREASE 1N SALARIES LIKELY The Magnates Could Scarcely Afford to Ket Revenue Influence Their Treatment f the "Men In Any Event A Preparatory Prepara-tory School for Ball Players. The ball players' Brotherhood, whether it moceeds or not, will go down in baseball history his-tory as haring accomplished a great deal for the players. Wisely directed by men who were not flpu-ing on making themselves rich oat of it, it would have continued always to have exerted a powerful influence on the National league and the game, and been a check upon those managers who might desire to take undue advantage of the players, and there are some managers willing tosqueoze the men to the limit of the rules, and often beyond the limit. One could reason that a failure of the Brotherheod would pot the players into a po-rtiou po-rtiou where the League would grind tbem down fata a worse condition than they ever were in as regards tbe relations of employer and employe. And there are baseball writers who are asserting that such will surely be the result of a collapse of the Brotherhood movement. move-ment. It is hard to imagine that any sensible man can really bring himself to believe in such a fallacious argument, and certainly men who are supposed to devote themselves to a study of the game, ite history in the past, aad tbe history being made from day to day, must either be very prejudiced or verydull in analytical powers to champion such a theory. It is useless to theorize on what the mag-Bate mag-Bate could do in the event of a collapse of the Brotherhood. The only line worth following fol-lowing oat is the one which is bordered by the things they could afford to do. Baseball bat got beyond the point of sentiment with both magnates and players. As played professionally, pro-fessionally, it is a question of dollars and casts for both parties. That a balance shall be oa the profit side of the ledger it is necessary neces-sary to give the public a square, honest and artistic gams, played tor all it is worth and docidad on it merits. There is too much capital locked up in the game, and the bread and butter of too many people depends upon it! success for the magnates to jeopardize it Truly said the players, in referring to tbe jnagoates, "Their eyes are in the turnstile," and if they had added, "and ours are glued a tVim um inrrmtfyr " thev would have com- plated a perfect sentence. ' The tremendous amount of newspaper discussion dis-cussion that the baseball war has aroused tas resulted in a more thorough understanding understand-ing by the public! of the relations between magnate and player than bas ever before existed. ex-isted. Millions of people have taken up one aide or the other, but there are other millions who love the game more" than either player or magnate, who kmtw that the player is comparatively but the hero of a day and that good, lair and honest sport can only be got from well paid, contented men under good rules and discipline properly administered. It is this class ot baseball enthusiasts who would bold the balance of power and prevent injustice to the player with the turnstile club. It would not be human nature if tbe mag-, mag-, nates did not have feelings of dislike against the ringleaders who have endeavored to destroy de-stroy their business interest and a desire to van up for tbe attempt should it fail The chances are that in the course ot time tbe League would endeavor to gat squaro with these men, but as against the rank and file, whom the maguates claim havo been led by the nose, there would be no feeling. Even tbe leaders would be safe against League dislike or revenge for a loug time because public opinion as expressed in dollars and cents would not sanction any harsh measures meas-ures towards them. Eventually they might be made to feel tbe weight, but tbe Leaguo could not afford to make it very heavy. As to salaries, there is not the least reason or argument to beliove that they would be smaller should the Brotherhood collapse than they are now, except in possibly a few cases. Those stars who have been accorded a large increase have long contracts, at tbe expiration expira-tion of which they will have little difficulty in renewing if their playing ability is the some. There were only a few of the present League cities which were unable to pay large salaries in 13SU, but it was because the gate receipts were not fairly divided. Under tbe 40 per cent, division adopted by the League this year, these cities can now afford to, and will have to, pay first class salaries. . It is true that in the case ot young players just making a start, salaries will be low, as they always have been, and they may have tagerve a somewhat longer time at medium rates before getting the remuneration of the present stars. It is not at all unlikely that many new men of good repute engaged will be signed for from one to three years at from (2,000 to $2,500, and will have to bold their own in good shape in order to get an increase or bold their own at tbe end of the term of service. It is also probable that all the clubs will engage from throe to five young players each, at small salaries, say (1,000 to $1,300, who have exhibited promise. The men will make quite a comfortable living while practicing prac-ticing and developing themselves to be future tars. They will know when they are engaged en-gaged that it may be several years before they' are put regularly into the nine, and hence the petty jealousies that have existed among extra players would be reduced to a minimum. I do not know that such a plan bas ever been considered, but it is easy to reason out that it would be a natural result of tbe players' revolt Each club could well afford to spend $5,000 a year for the purpose I have indicated, and thus establish preparatory prepara-tory schools for future League stars, which would be in the end quite as profitable as paying fancy prices for minor League play-era. play-era. Indeed, as the youngsters developed, they might be loaned to minor League clubs to oomplete their baseball education. That there would be any general decrease salaries in tbe National league in event of 'Ward's failure to establish a rival league and crush out his old employers does not, upon analysis, seem probable, unless the public Should lose interest and the gate receipts be largely diminished. A marked and continued diminution of revenue would, of course, be likely to scale salaries. Tbe failure of the Brotherhood would not In any appreciable degree destroy the concessions con-cessions which its existence has wrung from the League. To a certain extent it has been of incalculable benefit to the player of tbe future as well as tbe player of the day ; but its mission was to help the player and tbe game, not to destroy the League, which, with all its faults, has brought tbe game, as played by professionals, from the gutter to it present pres-ent high plane of honesty. The Brotherhood, a an organization within the League, neutralised neu-tralised the effects of great success on tbe port of tbe magnates which were like to do injury and injustice to the player. Should it fail as an organization outtldo tbe Leapme I do not believe the reforms it brought about will be joet to the players. W. I. Harms. |