Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-02-19
THE FIGHT Is ON.
The American Ease Ball Association In Open
Warfare With the League.

HOW THE BATTLE BEGAN AND WHAT THE Result
WILL PROBABLY BE-coNrRAcT JUMPING b,
wHoLEsALE-THE HIGHEST SALARIES WILL GET
THE BEST MKS-PEAcE WILL BE SECURED.
/ There is now no more doubt as to whether
there will be war in the base ball world thii
year. 1t is going to be war to the regulation
'bitter end" The announcement in last
nights STAR that the association had with
drawn from the national agreement was fol
lowed this morning by further information to
show that the association has burned its bridges
behind it and is now on the path of indepen.
dence. At the meeting of the association yester
day afternoon a vote was passed declaring the
Office of president vacant and sending Motif
cation to Mr.. N. E. Young of this city. score
tary of the national board of control, that the
association had adopted a resolution with
drawing from the agreement that was to be the
healing of the old wound and tie to bind base
ball into firm unit
Later in the evening q vote was taken for the
Office OF president, and as result Louis Kramer
o. Cincinnati was elected to fill the vacancy
caused by Mr.. fhurmans involuntary retire
ment
As a last stroke to the deposcd leader, who.
only short time ago was hailed throughout
the country as the savior of base ball, COM
mittee consisting of Messrs. Phelps, Won Der
Abe, Switzerland Elliott and johnson was ap-
pointed to examine into tho accounts Of the de-
| posed leader.
THE INDEPENDENT ORGANIZATION.
1t was decided that the schedule committee
should proceed with preparations for a new
arrangement of the schedule and q report will
! likely be made to further meeting of the as
| ISOLATION to be held in Cincinnati early in
March. rule was passed creating guarantee
fund, to be composed of so per cent deposit
! on the capital stock of each club in the organi-
zation, to insure their playing out the season,
SO that the league will have no chance to
weaken the ranks of the opposition by trying
to buy out any of the rebels, as was done last
| season.
| Al Johnson and his Cincinnati Club were ad-
mitted, and Johnson was elected to place on
| the board of directors. He promises that he will
ED Ill the line with astrong team and that he will
! settle all difficulties in his own town, where it
! IS expected there may be some legal fighting.
! The list of umpires for the season was COM
pleted by appointing the following, two of
| whom have already been named: G. Jones,
| Chas. Snyder. John Kelly. j. Z. MacCullar.
Among other minor details arranged was a rule
that players of the association should wear
white uniforms while playing ON the home
| grounds and black while travelling. vote of
| thanks rendered to President krauthoff of
| the Western Association for his stand in the
| BierbGUer-Stovey cases and the similar matters
which came before the board of control and
which led to the split.
| WHAT WILL BE THE RESULT?
There was the greatest harmony at the entire
meeting. and the prospect is that the associa-
| ton is now ont OF the union with determine
ton to stay out. There are no discordnnt ele-
ments in the ranks of the organization and
there is every prospect, now that the guarantee
rule has been established, that the association
will hang together as unit until the end.
/ What will be the result? There will probably
| be more disastrous strife than that of
| last year. There being no national agreement
! TO hold players and clubs in check there will
| be no counting on any man 20 stay where
he signs and contract jumping will be favor
! lite exercise for men of all grades. Salaries
will go up high the skies now that there
! Is to be an open struggle for material, and the
bids that will be made from one side and the
! other viii prove one Of the most dangerous
features of the war, ending in a good many
\ failures and not helping the general and final
| prosperity OF the game in the least. The fight
/ will be conducted on different lines from those
that marked the struggle Of last season be-
tween the league and brotherhood, inasmuch
as there is a different lot of men behind the re-
bellion and there will be no players, who have
| shown their inability to conduct such affairs,
admitted to the councils Of the association.
WHERE CLUBS WILL CONFLICT.
| There are but two points at which the great
rivals will come into active competition.
Boston and Philadelphia, and in the latter CITY
| there il no change from the conditions that
have always existed. The war will be con-
| ducted on line on salaries alone and there
| Will be nothing to prevent soaring of these
figures into the realms Of ruin and disaster.
| In the end, II is feared the national game will
| necessarily suffer. The strife of last wear be-
tween the league and the players had at least
| the good effect OF bringing out great many
| new men, young players whose ability to take
| part In first-cass exhibitions was shown and
who have now taken their places with the
| veterans In many cases. There was created an
| immense supply of talent greater than the de-
| mand. This necessarily redounded to the
| benefit of the sport. in making the market
easier and IN causing some sort of "A competi-
ton among the players that had the tendency
to reduce the salary list. 1t is probable that if
this latest war had not been declared the play
ing expenses of the average club this year
| would have been reduced TO minimum and
thus the game would have been helped a long
way to becoming independent of assessments
from stockholders.
| CASE OF AUCTION.
But now this is changed and without any
| machinery to reserve men and to hold them to
their contract it is going to be case Of auc tion
and the highest bidder will take all the plums
The next result, logically and practically speak
ing. will be that there will no longer be even a
| semblance of a division of merit among the
clubs irrespective of the capital behind the
stockholders, and the richer will grow and fat
| ten at the expense Of the poorer. that in the
end, if the cruel war is continued long enough.
| there will be presented the spectacle of eight
teams stretched out along the line in each or
gsnization in the order of the money that is
behind them and the ability TO offer more
| money for an excellent player than he is
| already getting Then by counting up the
| capital from which a club can draw one can
easily see at the beginning of a season Just the
| order in which the clubs will finish and inter-
est in the game will materially suffer.
IT MAY BE PREVENTED.
But it is not at all probable that this end will
be reached, as the chances are that before this
time-this chsos-comes there will be new
peace and new truce and new national
agreement and more machinery to keep it in
! violate. which will be regarded with suspicion
| and broken again at the first opportunity
The oldest feature Of the tight is the fact
that the whole trouble comes from the very
| efforts OF the various organizations to insure
harmony and through the medium of the very
means that were adopted to bring about this
desirable end 1t is the board of control to
| which all we're looking with eager eyes for the
FIRST signs OF that millennium that has been 40
long expected. and il is now the board of con-
troll to which ell are pointing the finger OF
scorn, to show that utter contempt with which
It and its actions are received by at least one of