Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-12-21
THE legal ASPECT
Points at Issue Between che
Brotherhood and the League.
THE FAMOUS ~REsERvE- CLAUSE

THE FAMOUS ~REsERvE- CLAUSE.
o. ths lGsaaing ee the Word In the Eyss
q shs Raw Depends the Fate q the
Brssheshooa's vsnturs-Argumsnts Pro
a.A Con.
IL b net aA sas5- Thing 20 explain the icgAl
points at inus between the Brotherhood
players and their old masters, the Natisnal
league mAgnatss, and am not sure that I
can mako IL thoroughly plain.
In 1887 ths Brotherhood presented . con.
tract drawn up By its committee, WITCH the
League accepted. In that contract appears
the following section. now famous the coun-
try over:
''Section ia-lt b further understood and
agreed that the said party Of the first part
shall have the right 10 reserve the said
party Of the second part for the season next
ensuing the term mentioned In paragraph
Q, herein provided, and said right and privi.
lcge d hereby accorded the said party Of the
nrst part upon the following conditions,
which are TO be taken and construed - con.
ditions precedent TO the exercise Of such az
traordinary right or privilege, viz:
~. That the said party Of the second part
shall not be reserved at Q salary les than
that mentioned in the twentieth paragraph
herein, except by the consent Of the party Of
the first part.
~ That the said party Of the second part,
II he be reserved by the said party Of the
frst part for the next ensuing season, shall
be one Of not more than fourteen players
then under contract, that is, that tho right
Of reservation shall be limited to that num-
ber Of players and no more"
Under this section the National league
claims 1t holds an option for the season Of
1890 on each player who signed contract
containing the clause. Finding that Msszrs.
Evarts, Choate q Beaman, the celebrated
New York lawyers, backed up this belief In
an elaborate opinion, tho League determined
to force Its players to keep their contracts,
and have brought Q suit against John M.
Ward to obtain an injunction to restrain him
from playing with tho Brooklyn Players
League club.
The point made by Mr.. Ward and his law
ysrs. Judges Rowland and Bacon, IL that the
word "reserve" used in the contract was put
In quotation marks to show that it was mere
ly technical word, and that It did not give
the League any option on the player other
than that understood by the reserve provision
Of the national agreement, which means q re-
serve only as against organizations or clubs
members or parties to that agreement
1t Is well known fact that the National
agreement is q covenant entered into by GER
tain parties by which each agrees to recog-
nize certain rights Of all the parties thereto
as set forth. II has always been considered
that players could play with outside organ
izations, and they have frequently done %,
as, for instance, with tho California league
before that association was admitted to the
protection Of the national agreement. The
players contend that a. the Players league
Is not party to the national agreement, tho
reserve does not hold against them when they
Join that organization. In other words, no
matter what may have been the spirit Of
their contract with the League, the letter Of
it does not hold them. To offset this claim
the League will uso another section Of the
contract, which expressly states that no for
eign documents shall be used In the interpre-
tation Of the contract.
A good many people suppose that this In
junction suit Is brought TO test the validity
Of the reserve rule. This, however, y not
the case. The reserve rule Ii not In question
at all. The League never has claimed II to be
legal and has generally believed that the
courts would 20 decide. The reason It has
never been bought up by the players II that
q favorable decision would be of no value, a.
the courts could not compel club to hire O
player II it did not see ft to do 10, and hence
the combination made by the magnates has
remained effective.
The point tho court has now to decide Is
what tho players meant by the word ''re-
serve"-whether or not they intended TO give
an option ON their services rs against any
other club or organization. II they did, the
League can hold them; II they did not, they
are free to 60 to the new league. Tho Ma
tional league claims that II the intention had
been to limit the reserve to organizations
under the national agreement, the fact
would have been put into the contract, a. It
was drawn by the Brotherhood's own lawyer,
and they stated at the time that they desired
to put into the contract every condition Of
the agreement between clubs and players
They say that the national agreement was
matter between the clubs, and that the play
srs were not parties to II directly or indi-
rectly, in any manner, shape or form.
On the other hand, the players say that
they considered the question when they drew
up the contract, and that the word "optioun
was first ussd; but afterward stricken out
and the word reserve" inserted In quotation
marks, a. 1t was believed that IL would cover
the point and leave them free to sign with
any league outside the national agreement.
These are the facts, stated as simply a. pos
sible. The evidence will no doubt be volu-
minous. The players will have to show what
they meant when they signed tho contracts,
and the League viii bring evidsncs to the
same effect They will endeavor to aid their
case by producing an outside contract with
Ward, IN which he uses language which ON