, 1892-01-03
A HOME Run FOR PEACE
Warning Baseball Magnates
Bury the Ratchet at Last.
A NEW LONG NAMED SCHEME.

the Birth of the Consolidated National
League and American Association al
Professional Baseball Players, Tells the
Story of the Event
From this time on it will be eminently
proper to refer to Indianapolis as 1.-THE City
of Conflicting Emotions" In Hoosief.
dom's capital the rival magnAtes met to
smoke the pipe of peace while manufae,
turing history and organizing the Consol-
idated National League and American
Association of Professional Baseball Play
ers. For some OF them there was suffering
as keen as that of the small boy after he
had pulled his first cigar. Not since the
inaugural of the latest war In the baseball
kingdom has there been a larger gathering
than that within the confines of Indiana's
metropolis. Every club in both American
association and National league was repre-
sented, headed by their respective presi.
d~ents-Zach Phelps and N. K. Young.
When the story Of the twelve club league
was first old in detail months ago Their
were many who scoffed at the idea. Some
of hose who laughed scornfully then are
now warm advocates OF the solution of the
Improbable tangle. The eight member
of the League family remain in the circuit,
the clubs in Philadelphia and Boston join.
ing hands. Baltimore, Washington, st.
Louis and Louisville make up the dozen.
Columbus has succumbed to the inevitable
after a brave struggle to continue in the
company. After the admission of Chicago
and the increase of Association franchises
TO nine the Buckeyes realized that their
room was considered preferable to their
Efforts to secure n team were
practically abandoned. There still re
manned one spark OF hope, and Columbus
asked for a place in the new associated
league, offering to contribute S10,0 900 to the
purchase OF Louisville's franchise. No en-.
enlargement was given and Columbus
gracefully yielded.
1t was from the encampments of the new
Chicagos and Milwaukee that cries of
anger and agony emanated. Eleven of the
hackers of the club that has never played
a game came down to stem the tide OF
progressive peace, but they were engulfed
and wiped out. The secret history of the
deal will probably be written later. Here
and there facts crop out. Had the National
league been disposed to act t~raitorously
the Association could have been complete.
ly annihilated at the meeting, but to theiI
credit they turned a deaf ear to the tempt.
er who sought revenge Alone. Two of the
new Chicago trbe-George II. Williams
and John Condon-paid a visit to Frank
Robson and Charles II. Byrne, and laid
before them the plan of vengeance. Chii
Won der Abe was the man they desired t.
wreck. 1t was the st. Louis mogul whom
they blamed for making amalgamation
possible. and they offered to retire from the
field without a cent OF compensation II the
League o turn to the Association and
announce, 1.-THE negotiations are off"
I'VE blame only those who urged us to
enter the Association" was the declarn.
tion unanimously expressed of the eleven.
IF the League breaks now, the Association
will turn to us. We have one with them
forever and will laugh at their plight"
The League duo listened and then made
plain to the conspirators that they were
wrong in their estimate of Won der Abe,
Der Boss President" had been the last to
yield. For three days the peace commits.
%sioners, REINFORCED by George w. Wagner,
of the Athletics, sod F. G. Richter, of The
Sporting Life, had been in st. Louis. They
made a convert after hours of hard mis-.
sionary labor. The plans OF Chicago t
wreak vengeance on the Association mis-.
carried. 1t was well that the League re
fused to listen. Treachery at such a time
would nave meant absolute ruin to the
game. The entire race of enthusiasts were
crying aloud for peace. The twelve club
league formed the only tangible way out
of the snarl without sacrificing patriotism
and public pride in two of the greatest
cities in the country-Boston and Chicago.
From his retreat in Beantown Julian b.
Hart kept up a running fire of kilograms
frantic pleas for somebody to thwart the
Zeal. He offered to throw himself into the
breach and clog the wheels, IL somebody
advanced him $4,000, but his offer was not
accepted. 1t was Julian b. Hart who
stopped the procession at Washington last
fall. In indianapolis his influence was not
worth any more than Norcross' draft" fol-
$4,000 against Russell Sage.
The plight of Milwaukee was narrowing.
In the midst of & campaign the Brewers
deserted their brethren in the Western
association for n few bites of a big red
apple b a has now turned to ashes on their
lips. les Sea fruit is the plum plucked
from Pendleton last August. Columbus
was resigned to its fate, but Chicago and
Milwaukee sat on the mournes' bench
and made the air blue with left handed
compliments for their late confreres.
For almost a year there nav been peace
makers lowering about ready to SOW the
seed of renewed fellowship and fraternity.
Most of 1t fell on stony ground land was
trampled under foot by the class that gave
more thought to sentiment than to com.
mon sense. Then the leaders barred thu
gates on them, and the flower OF peac.
budded in secret.
Nntu L dIu West, bdlu 1OlOnel JONI
/. Rogers to me, both Mr.. Reach and ]
expected to retire from baseball. We wert
willing to turn over the Philadelphia cluh
to the Athletics, but they did not want &c
buy. Rather than prove a stumbling block
in the way of the contamination Of peace
we have waived objection to several prac
tees we have never Endorsed"
1t may be weeks before all the tangle.
are entirely Strengthened out. Much Of
this work will be lone in committee.
New York is likely to regain Rusie and
Chicago will rave first claim on Pfeffer,
Dahlen and Kittredge. Boston and Phila.
oslphia will have two of the strongest clubs
In the new body with its teams picked from
the array under contract. Next season no
club will be permitted to carry over four
teen players and some of them propose to
make twelve Tie limit. That is all Captain
Comiskey has On the roll in Cincinnati.
Louisville, Washington and st. Louis will
be strengthened. Tia material is at hand.
A revival in the minsr leagues may be
confidently expected. TIE field is certain.
ly a broad one. Neither the Texas league
nor the Southern league has been in ex-
istence for two years, and it would not be
surprising to see Columbus leae in the
resurrection of the Tristate league-n or
ganization that gave such players as All