Wichita eagle., 1890-01-22
nalu gagc aadnesday 7oring ganuar e.
OR BASEBALL Law
w. I. Harris ElurfdateS an Inn
portant Matter.
GIST OF THE DIAMOND WAR.

| Of Bate-Baseball Law Is at VarisAc<
| Rem Milford, Jr., of The Cincinnati
Times-Star, who is one of the brightest writ
ers on baseball topics in America, and one OF
! the best also because he tells story IN a
plain, everyday manner, easily understood
and right to the point every time, has APPLY
| sized up the baseball war in this sentence,
at is campaign for the preservation OF
baseball law on one side and its destruction
! on the other"
| 1t is frequently asked what is the differ
snce between baseball law and common law.
| The answer is that baseball law is law unto
itself 1t IS a collection Of arbitrary Gus
toms, adopted by the baseball men, that are
] not in accord with common law.
| These arbitrary customs are at variance
! with common law, and there is no doubt
| whatever that the courts would decide, if
| appealed to, that the customs referred 30 are
! not legal; but the courts have never been in
| voked, on the principle that you can bring a
horse to water, but you cannot make HIM
| drink The courts might declare that it was
illegal to suspend player or say that he
should not be hired by any one eke, but the
courts possess no power to compel person
to hire another, unless that person desires to
do SO willingly, and hence the magnates have
been able to enforce baseball regulations,
and have built up set of regulations, with
presidents to govern them, which have be-
come known as baseball law.
The National league and American associa-
ton, together with the minor associations
combined under the national agreement,
have for years been an organized trust which
controlled all baseball interests, and when
one considers the enormous power they have
welded one is amazed that they have not
used it more arbitrarily and despoticaly than
they have.
The basis of all baseball law is the national
agreement and the customs which have OBJ
tanned in interpreting its provisions This
famous document is an agreement by and be-
tween associations binding themselves in cer-
tain forfeitures and penalties to keep the
compact inviolate The parties tO"it are the
National league and the American associa-
ton There are some supplemental articles
known as articles of qualified admission to
the national agreement, under which minor
baseball organizations are admitted to the
protection of the national agreement.
The celebrated agreement which has been
the corner stone OF the success of baseball
contains ten articles. The first one provides
for its name. The second explains the con-
tracts between clubs and players and pro-
vides that such contracts shall not be made
prior to Oct. 90 of each year, and prescribes
for the suspension of the player and $500 fine
TO the club for violation Article 8 pro-
vides for the treatment of suspended players
by other clubs and prohibits them from play
ing with or against teams Of which a dis
qualified player is a member.
Article is the reserve rule. It grants
each club the power to select the names Of
fourteen players under contract with them on
the 10th DAY of October in each year and pro-
tects them in the continued service of such
players by making the players ineligible to
contract with any other club a party 10 the
agreement except as may be provided in its
terms. and clubs are also permitted 10 add to
their hist Of reserved men the names of any
players who may have been reserved by
them in prior years who have refused to con-
tract with the club reserving them, thus in
stituting perpetual bar from baseball for
those players who declined to remain with
the clubs which had reserved them without
obtaining proper release.
Article governs the releases of players
ject to the acceptance of the other clubs of
his association for period Of ton days After
that the player is free to go where DC pleases
Article gives the clubs territorial RICH is in
the cities where they are located, and pro-
hibits any other club from being located
there without permission, and the article also
provides for the resignation Of clubs during
the month OF November Article Z provides
r e II.
of the agreement for playing games against
any club presenting ON its nine an ineligible
player. Article gives each association
power to make rules for thecentral discipline
and compensation Of its players. Articles 0
and 10 provide for board of arbdtrators,
consisting Of three each from the two major
organizations, to whom shall fall the duty of
interpreting the agreement and deciding all
disputes arising under it
The qualified articles are thirteen IN num-
Der, and provide for the protection of minor
leagues, and prescribe the amount to be paid
for such protection, which is 81 900 for four
clubs, 81 500 for SIX clubs and s., 900 fOreght
clubs. These articles are very complete and
cover about every point that could possibly
arise between the parties thereto.
This, III brief, Is the national agreement.
1t is the law and the board Of arbitration is
the court of last resort Many of lis proSis-
ions and the usages which have grown up
under 1T are obnoxious to fair minded people
on first acquaintance and objectionable al
ways, but experience has shown that these
regulations are absolutely necessary. Ball
players need to be governed with strong
hand The stability of baseball demands that
clubs shall keep well along with the process
sion, but they cannot do SO If their players
can desert them at any moment
There must be something more than 8 COM
mon law punishment for vbolators of con-
tract. and there must be something to punish
clubs and associations for violation Of con-
tracts on either side than a suit for damages
In the past it has been quite as difficult to
keep the magn6tes III line as the players; in
deed, more so in some respects, and nothing
short of the iron clad national aCreepepf
would have done it or Will do it In tbs tuSure
We have specimen of what woud happen
without it when the clubs hustle TO obtain
the services of neyc PLAYER W no has made 4
fore the board OF arbitration show what most
of the clubs would 90 If they had q chance.
As for the players, the events of the last few
moslLls IN the signing OF double contracts
and the bargaining and 'shenannigan" III
dul-ed IN are good indications of the kind of
practices that would become general were
there not some iron bound rlile 70 hold both
ma -nates and players 20 gwen line.
Ii il TINS baseball law which hAe made the
national games such a prosperous finan
cial institution. and made IL posi- bic for hall
players 20 get such princsay salaries Its de-
struction would mark tie dscadence IT toe
sport, and make it unprotsabie professionally
without q Tremendous reduction in salaries.
The natural result would OF course be re-
turn 20 tie present 81 aerr or something very
close TO !. IN time, but the experiment would
be q costly che u every one " no rnSE se.cureS