The hatchet. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1883-19??, 1900-07-29

The club owners have only them
selves to blame for many of the unde'
sirable features which have cropped out
during the present season. When the
suggestion to reduce the League circuit
TO eight clubs first took tangible form,
the magnates were happy and predict
ed that their troubles were over They
would have been to a large extent If
they had rcmodeled the whole institu-
ton when they made that one change.
When that wise man said that you can
fool the public at times, but not all the
time, as he prepared to abandon a non
paying publication and then changed
his mind so il has been with the mon
eyed men who have monopoly Of the
baseball business Of this country.
The instinct which causes the profess
slonal promoter to try to gather in the
public dollars without giving a fair re-
turn for the money invested by the I'M
thinking permcates the magnates at
the present time. They seem to think
that the honesty and prestige of the
game of baseball will carry the sport
through any crisis which it may meet.
There has been so little business tact
displayed by those same magnates dur
ing the last few years that it Is won
der that baseball has not received a
worse black eye than 1t has. 1t was
the plain duty of the club owners to
weed out blackguardism, and they did
not have the moral courage to tackle
the job without gloves. They were
afraid that their carefully manlcured
fingers would get dirty. 1t was their
duty to suspend indefinitely, If neces-
sary, every player or umpire who tried
to bring discredit upon the game. They
have not done it. and they don't intend
TO do it either. When they appointed
John b. Day-and there never was a
more intelligent, capable and honest
official connected with the game-as
supervisor of the umpres, they simply
created a sinecure whose duties were
to be purely nominal Day, when he
accepted the position, was prepared TO
work and earn his salary. but it did
not take him long to find out that he
was not expected to do anything of the
sort. Day is opposed to rascality and
blackguardism on and off the field,
and If he had been allowed to act he
would have Strengthened out the UNI.
pire-player tangle long ago.
Mr.. Day has practically stopped
making suggestions, because he knows
that they are not wanted. 1t was the
duty of the club owners to retain the
double umpire system. yet 1t was dis
carded in the face Of public opinion
simply because Of the little added eX-
pense The club owners owed it to the
thousands Of enthusiasts around the
great city of New York to try to
straighten out the baseball trouble in
the metropolis, and yet they did moth
ing. Freedman is opposed to sport Of
all sorts and his advent into the game
has done much to kill the interest, yet
at the annual gatherings Of the League
certain club owners stand up and de-
fend him simply because they happen
to own a little stock in the New York
tecting that interest by toadying to
CrokeTs lieutenant
The club owners simply lack the NOR
al courage to tackle the situation as it
is and bring it out Of chaos. They can
do it, and If there is any truth in the
rumors flying around they may tackle
the job next fall when they meet in
solemn conclaye. If they fail, their
Golfers will be further depleted next
year.
While the players who are the lead
ers in the Players Protective associa-
ton are disinclned to rush into pub
lie print, they do not like certain stories