The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-11-01
FAvoRs A Two-YEAR CLAUSE.

A committee of three from the West
ern league will appear before the Ma
tional league at the annual fall meet
ing of the latter in Philadelphia week
after next to appeal for a revision OF
the national agreement, especially the
drafting clause The members of the
committee are President B. B. Johnson,
NJ r. Killilea, of Milwaukee, and Mar
Gus Hayne, of Minneapolis.
This committees appeal is of much
interest to the minor leagues. Yester-
day President Johnson explained to the
Chicago Tribune the hardships entail
ed upon the Western and other minor
leagues by the present drafting sys-
TEN, and explained the arguments he
would advance in seeking to get a
correction of the same by the major
league.
The present National agreement"
said he, has been in force two years.
and ample opportunity has been given
to dislose its merits and defects. We
Concede the agreement has strong and
Tedeeming features, yet in some re-
spects it has worked hardships to the
Western league. 1t has burdened our
league with additional expense in the
way of salaries and offers no prOtec
ton to the club owner who is disposed
to spend a liberal sum on the collection
of strong material for his ball team.
The present system of drafting
players should be regulated" contin-
ued Mr.. Johnson, and the drafting
price should be increased. There are
five cities in the Western league which
have supported at one time or another
a National league or an American as
SOciation club. The patrons of the
game in those cities have a keen ap-
probation Of the very best article of
ball. Under existing restrictions it is
difficult to elevate the standard of play
in the Western league According to
the provisions of the drafting rule
now in force a league club can draft
any number of players from a club in
our league. Deprive a club of two Of
its best players and you leave a breach
that it is difficult to fill Take five men
from team and you practically wreck
it. That has been done under the pres
ent drafting system. A year ago the
Minneapolis club was thoroughly rid
died. Players in high favor with the
public were snatched away and be-
cause the market offered nothing as
good the club owners were forced to
fill the vacancies with men of inferior
ability. What was the result? The
club dropped from first to sixth place,
the patronage dwindled to nothing
and the stockholders lost thousands of
dollars.
1.-TWO players are all a club can affrd
to lose through a draft. The fierce
competition which prevails among the
clubs of the National organization
spurs the managers on to reckless ex-
traVagance. Their nets are cast to
right and left for desirable young tim
Der Players with but one years ex-
perience in a minor league are picked
up and given a brief trial in the spring.
Two-thirds of them are farmed or cut
adrift. They were not thoroughly
equipped for league company. Players
Of this grade are returned to the minor
league with salaries inflated and they
are a drag rather than help to the
clubs to which they are allotted
Roger Denzer was plucked too soon
by Chicago. One more year under Cap
tain Comiskey's guidance would have
made him great pitcher. A rule pro-
Vlding a player must have two years
in a minor league before he is eligible
to the draft would be a real benefit to
the National League club owner. and
would not serve as a detriment to the
player. Two years of training and
experience in the Western league would
amply test a players ability to take a
position in National league company.
Experienced managers will tell you how
great a hardship 1t is to have a club
broken up every fall by the draft. 1t
means the replacing of your old and
best players with new and untried men.
The experiment Is costly. 1t is through
that channel Western league clubs have
lost thousands of dollars.
The drafting price for clubs in class
A is much too small. The very fact
that players can be had for such a
small sum is apt to encourage sharp
practice, and l regret to say the spirit
and purpose of the draft have been on
several occasions abused.
western league clubs have not
stopped at paying $500 and more for
desirable players. In eight cases out
of ten club drafting a player can sell
him back to the Western at the price
paid for his release"
Mr.. Johnson then proceeded to cite
some of the instances in which his
league had suffered financially as a re-
suit of the drafting system:
''AGertes, when he was a member of
the st. Paul club, drew a salary of $165
a month. He was bought by the Phil
adelphia club, and as he was unable to
hold his own in National league COM
pany was returned to the Western
organization the last season. Mr.. Lof-
tus was forced to accept him on the
terms of his Philadelphia contract,
which was $3.50 a month.
"Hulen furnishes a similar example.
With the Minneapolis club he drew
$175 a month. One years experience In
the National league inflated his salary
to $3.50 a month. In almost every in
stance where a Western league club is
called upon to fill the place of a drafted
player it results in a financial loss.
First Baseman Cary was drafted from
Milwaukee in the fall of 1894. The Mil
waukee management paid Cary sal