OCR Text |
Show Ballplayers Can Have Until September First to Get Essential Jobs Date Set by Baker Is Five Weeks Short of Closing Time of Major Leagues; Request by Club Owners to Have Until October 15th Refused; Re-fused; "World's Series" Will Immediately Imme-diately Follow Closing of Season. Incidentally, it will undoubtedly have the cti'eet of adding to the number of persons usefully employed and decreasing" de-creasing" the number of persons uselessly use-lessly employed. In this way the order will strengthen the military forces by making it less necessary to exempt for industrial reasons men who would otherwise be taken Into the military service. This is an indirect result, but one i of very great importance, and if exceptions ex-ceptions are made, or postponements are to be made in the enforcement of this order, it will require a very careful care-ful study to determine whether those exceptions ought to be the persons in whose behalf this petition is filed or some other group out of the large number affected by the order, many of whom have already complied with it, and brought about a readjustment of the trades and occupations which they had previously followed. Cannot Make Exceptions. T think it would be an unfortunate thing to have so wholesome a recreation recrea-tion a,s baseball destroyed, if it can be continued by the use of persons not available for essential war service. But it would be a much more unfortunate unfor-tunate thing to preserve even so wholesome an amusement by making an exception in favor of baseball players which is denied to great classes of persons in the United States whose occupations have been held similarly nonessential, although they are immediately associated with the distribution of food and other processes of our daily life more fundamental fun-damental than any mere amusement. It does happen that baseball is more integrated than any other occupation in our country, at least in the sense that its successful conduct depends upon preservation of u 11 the major league teams scattered throughout the country, while in most occupations the work or fight order has merely a series se-ries of local and more' or less personal per-sonal effects. Waited for Test Case. WASHINGTON, July 26. Professional Profes-sional baseball players were given until September 1 to seek essential employment or be called to the colors, in an order issued by Secretary Baker today. The secretary said the extension was given because of the representation that players may have been put in a less fa- j vorable attitude than others affected because be-cause of their reliance on his statement that the order would not be decided until a case had arisen He made It plain that the war department is interested solely in the strengthening of the military forces. Provost Marshal General Crowder. Mr. Faker said, had reported that it was not clear the game would have to be discontinued dis-continued even If the order were made Immediately applicable, as only 237 major league players would be affected. While regarding it as unfortunate to have so wholesome a recreation destroyed, de-stroyed, the secretary said it would be a more unfortunate thing to preserve it by making an exception in favor of players play-ers He said baseball differed from other industries classed as nonproductive 1" that ;ts successful conduct depends upon the preservation of all the major league teams sea tiered throughout the country, while in most occupations the work or light order has merely a series of local and more or less personal effects. Secretary's Order. Secretary Baker'B order, in the form of n memorandum for the provost marshal general, follows: A petition has been filed for an extension ex-tension oc time within whlcn professional profes-sional baseball players shall seek essential es-sential or productive employment, and the order asked is one which will extend ex-tend until October 15, 1J118. As grounds for this request, it is alleged that there are but 237 persons affected af-fected by the so-called work or light order; but that, In spite of this small number, their taking would lead to the Immediate breaking up of the entire en-tire game. it is further said that the notice is too short to allow the leagues to adapt themselves to the ruling, and that the failure of the clubs to adapt themselves to the ruling is due to the fact that the secretary of war caused it to be known through the newspapers newspa-pers that the question or tne appllca-t appllca-t ion of the order to baseball players would not be decided until an actual case arose. A hearing has been had on this subject by the provost marshal general, gen-eral, who reports to me that it is not clear to him that the game will have to be discontinued even if the order is made immediately applicable. The purpose of the work or fight order, so far as the war department is concerned, is to strengthen the military forces of t lie country, and not to control the labor situation. I am impressed, too, by the representation repre-sentation made that the baseball players play-ers may have been put in a less favorable favor-able attitude by reason of their reliance reli-ance on my statement that the question ques-tion of their inclusion in the terms of the order would not be decided until a case had arisen. For these reasons it seems to mo entirely proper and fair to extend tho time during which the readjustment can take place, merely In order that justice may be done to the persons involved, and I do, therefore, direct that the application of the order be made to date from September 1. The order for the extension to the 15th. of October is denied. Playing Season Shortened. Secretary Eaker's ruling means that the world's series this year will have to be played before September 1. This will bring about a shortening of the playing season and also give the "dopesters," for the lirst time in their lives, a chance to pick a pennant winner in July, in the American league the Boston Red Sox hold a commanding lead; in the National organization or-ganization the Chicago Cubs are on top. If both clubs keep up their present pace it looks as though they will meet In the annual classic. Baseball owes its perpetuation until "September morn"' only to the fact that the men engaged in it, who are of draft age, constitute such a relatively small number, and also because it was deemed unfair to kill instantly a sport in which so much money was invested. The secretary held another conference this afternoon with Provost-Marshal -General Crowder, with whom the baseball base-ball leaders had filed their brief, before he announced his decision. August Herrmann, chairman of the national baseball commission, when In- formed of the decision of Secretary Baker that the work or fight regulations would not apply to baseball players until un-til September l. said he was very much pleased. "That is flue, and it pleases me very much." said Mr. Herrmann. B. B. Johnson, president of the American Ameri-can league, who Is in Cincinnati, said the decision of Secretary Baker was satisfactory satis-factory to him. "Tho major leagues," said Johnson, "will play their last games on September Septem-ber 2, Labor dsy. and the world's series will follow immediately." |