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Show ENTRANCE OF FEDERALS I INTO FOLD IS CERTAIN I Moguls of Organized Baseball, Having . Proved H Efficacy, of Trust Methods, Will Not Long H Continue Expensive Fight. H By FRANK G. MENKE. "NEW YORK, March 7. Is thcro a baseball trust? There is, sav wc, "There ain't," assort Messrs. Herr-nian, Herr-nian, Johnson, Toner, ot al. Well, then, let's see. "A trust,'1 remarked Mr. Webster, tho well-known assembler df words, "is a combination formed for the control of several generally competitive corporations corpora-tions under one direction. Its object is to reduce expenses, regulate production produc-tion and do away with or otherwise ovorcomc competition, and thus dominate domi-nate the market and obtain a maximum return for the capital invested." Doesn't that about fit the description of organized baseball? What happened about ton or eleven 3'ears ago when the -American league showed that it had become as great a baseball power as the National league? Did the two leagues continue to wago warfare on each other? Did the magnates mag-nates continue the practice of paying big salaries to players to keep thorn from jumping to tho rival outfit? No, thoy did not. They combined forces. They figured that competition wasn't benefitting anyone but the player. Combined After War. And what happened afterward? Tho two big leagues then combined, and I tho combino decided to take the minor leagues "undor their wing." In other words, it coaxed the 'minor league teams to join in tho National agroe- meat, where they would bo bound by ! the dictates of the ruling powcra of the two big leagues. Tho major league loaders pointed out ! to tho minor leaguers tho biir benefits the minor leaguers would derivo from i this action. The minors would got tho I "protection" of tho mujors, and the minors would havo tho privilege of ! celling their star players to the major ; leaguers. It was a beautiful little argument and tho minora "fell" ; for it. But in passing it might he said that the major leaguers sought out the minor loaguors ami bound them up with such an agreement, not so much 'because thoy loved the dear little miuor leaguers, but because such an ugree: meat would prevent the minor loaguon: from somo dav risinir up and assorting thoy were major leaguers, in tho fcame wnv that the American league did in Under One Head. A trust is a combination of several different corporations, concornn or industries in-dustries that are undor one direction. As wo view it. every organised base- ball league is under the direction oi and must bow to the mandates of thu natioiurl commission. Each league can make its own minor rules, but when it .M comes to anything drastic it is com- polled to do .itist what tho national com- ilH mission dictates. ;H A trust attempts to crush out any competition that may arise. Isn't that 'IH what organized baseball has done in tho !H caso of tho Federal league? Haven't lH they exerted every effort to block the iB onward rush of the now loaguo that threatens to break ud their monopoly 'IH in the baseball world? Before the Federal league assumed its present powerful proportions tho mtijor league magnates, in cities whore , only ono team operated, had no thought (1 of 'transferring a minor leag-uc fran- ) chiso to that city and providing con-tinuous con-tinuous baseball. . Meet the Invaders. Charles W. Somors, owner of tho, Cleveland American league club nud ul- fl so owner of tho Toledo American usso. B ciation club, was perfectly satisfied to ,M have tho teams opcrato iu their ro-spoctive ro-spoctive cities. But now, since the I-'ederals have showu that thoy really m menu business, Somors has docidod to shift ttio American jissuiiiunuu iv.ih from Toledo to Olovoland. He's doinr it not so much because ho wants to provide continuous busoball for tho Cleveland fans as ho is to forestall an invasion of the Federal. Charles H. ISbbcttn, owner of tho Brooklyn National and the Nowark Tn-tornatioual Tn-tornatioual IenguD clubs, never guve a thought to trnnsf erring tho Newark team to Brooklyn until it wus rumored H that the Federals would .put a team HI in Brooklyn. Now id's gmng Monmg Kl thought, to transforms, tho Newaik ;BJ earn to' Brooklyn to play thorc t when the Dodgers are hot ut homo. Abbotts H rciiliTCB that the Newnrk club will not ' draw"nH well in Brooklyn when cqmpe - against the Federals ns it would have drawn in Newark, jvhcre , it had tH o competition, but he .is willing to M stand wlratovcr loss is occasioned lM h nihlv for the naku of cutting into fH tl io attcjidanco of. tho Federal ougue. H SbbottK. of course, has denied this. Tho Irensoif for the denial is obvious. -H Lure for Crowds. Tho tfcdoral louguerS will charge ma- 1 ior league prices for admission:, the American association, and Tnfaonal IfM league prices are somewhat less, -ami IH bX Sonicw and lSbbo.tts figure tut tho fans, given a- ehoitio ot scoing tno (Continued on Following PagW.) I: FEDS ILL SOON BE I li 0BG1IZED FDLO j (Continued from Preceding Page.) ; ' Kcilornls perform tit bip'n prices and ' lh clash AA teams portonn nt inoder I at prices, will choose to pay the smaller price. , Although Chicago is pretty -well cist- ljrod up now with major league clubs, having representation in the American, c National am) Fedcrnl league, tho ruling howcra in organized baseball would ;: wave jilaccd ;ui American association lmu in thai city, trniibt'orring the St, I'aul franchise to Chicago, if Charlp j WoWj .Murphy had not made a protest ; and woo. Organizod baseball wanted ; to mit nn Amnriean association team !rt (.hieago, not because it felt, that fan- f dom In Chicngo would xutinort it, but f tfnijply n.n one way of fighting the Fed '" Tho organised people Jong hnc con-j i, Undot! there ii room for only two major leagues. And yet, they now are plan- ' nittp the organization of n fourth big l. losyup. They nro planning it not be- . cnwiO they thhik there is a deniand for SV it, but sfiwply lo bavo it act as n club : a go i tut the Federal. Aren't the trnst methods? II ; Until the advent of the Federal 2 ; leaguo the orgnaixed baseball people paid their players just whatever sal- Ei inula tbey wifbed. The demands or tbe Wt, vftrth at' thu playor did not flgnre. It i was t'-e tAugnalf who decidi'd and tbut K decitiou meant that tbe player got just I 1 small a salary as possible, I - liut whon the Federals camp along V anil offered by: ralarie the organized It' people knew then it was a case of B E . ' loosening up" or losing tbose playen. I 5 And in many cases they almost doubled the salaries, of their piaviirK. Tboy did it, not b?cnu?e their pfayers had doubled dou-bled in vnlu in their estimation, bnt merely because tbey used tniat mcth-Up mcth-Up to tho present time tbe "Federal ; ..; bavo been xvaging a merrv little war f on organized luiecball. Tbe ciiancea i iioir ar tbat the Federals -will riso to ' major Icagpo poweir that In a year or 1 so tbey irill demonstrata to the base j bll public that they arc -worthv foes , - of organized baseball, i And tben "whnt -will happen f ' Vp ' Baseball Karfaro doea not appeal to i the magnate. And it detracts consld- 3, erably from his bank roll. Of roune. ' ' no magnate in organlred bajflball now ' wnnta to takr in tbe Federal out JJut, If-tbe Federals continue to show j.trrngth, If tbey ronfiane to grab off tbe ma,or league stars and contimie to force the organized peopb to pay buge alnric9 to playor to keri them from jumping, it's a 100 to 1 snot that the orgnnized moguls will do tbe only thing possible to eavo themselves from bank ruptcv find that s to rave the olive branch is tho gonoral direction of tbo Federals. And they'll wave it lostilj-, too. And It '5 Another 100 to 1 shot that the Federals, tianpit tbeir declarations now that thay never will rnltsr organ-atn organ-atn batel)8ll,"will make n frantie grab for the aprig. aad so make baseball ?jjen a bigger trust than it is today. |
