The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-12-13
WHAT THE PLAYERS WANT
Is EXPLICITLY STATED TO THE
LEAGUE BY THE PROTECTIVE
ASSOCIATION
THE MAGNATEs GET 10 WORK
First Actual business Session OF the
National League OF Ball
Clubs Is to Re Held
in New York.

NEW YORK, Dec. r12.-After trying for
two Gays the National league nlagnates
finally got into. session at the Fifth Ave
nue. hotel tonight. When the meeting
was called to order by President Young
there We're present: A. II. -Soden, W. II.
Cohant and ]. b. Billings, Boston; W.
w. Kerr, Barney Dreyfus and 2. l.. Au-
ten, Pittsburg; A. L. Reach and Col.
John 1. Rogers, Philadelphia; T. A. Abel,
Edward Hanlon and Charles Ebbetts,
BROOKLYN; Fred Knowles, New York;
James Hart, Chicago; John T. Brush,
Cincinnati, and f. De Haas ROBIN on
and Stanley Robson, st. Louis.
This was the busiest day that TIE
league magnates have put in. The COM
mittee appointed by the league to hear
the grievances of the Players Protective
association went into session in parlor
d R. The committee is composed Of
Messrs. Rogers, Soden and Brush. The
players organization demand that the
session be an open one and was acceded
to, and when the session began the par
Tor was crowded. The meeting was
opened by Mr.. Soden who stated that,
as the result of correspondence between
Mr.. Taylor and the league magnates the
committee had been appointed to listen
tC the demands of the players. The com
mittee, he said, was appointed last Sep
temher, hut for various reasons could
not meet the players committee until the
present time MT.-Soden said that the
committee had no power to act, but
would report the conference back the
meeting Of the league.
In stating the demands of the players
organization to the league committee,
Mr.. Taylor said there were just three
defects in the present form of contract
that the players wanted corrected They
are modification of the reserve clause,
the entire elimination of the farming
OUT clause, and the modification of the
clause relating to the power of club own
ers to buy and sell players or claim them
without first getting the players consent
Before he would consent to present the
players demands to the leagues COM
mittee Mr.. Taylor eXacted promise that
the committee would report the matter<
to the league Immediately and that some
action would be taken by the league at
its present session. Mr. Taylor demurred
to treating with the committee at first
on the ground that it had no power to
act. He asked that the matter be laid
over until it could be presented to a full
meeting Ct the magnates
Both Chairman Soden and Col Rogers
assured Mr.. Taylor that the matter would
be more eXpeditously treated if present
ed to the committee. This matter is a
serious one to US, said Col Rogers.
Contracts are nine-tenths of the assets
of club. This committee will make a
fair and truthful report to the league of
what you say to u.s.
Mr.. Brush said that officially the mem
bers of the league had not been info1 med
as to the purposes Of The players or
ganization and they l3oked upon it as a
secret orga nizatiop into which many
piaNers-playing rlanagers-hqd net been
taken Mr.. Taylor denied this and after
receiving a promise of immediate action
he presented his case
70 hi.
the players and club owners can get to.
8cther and adjust these matters without
reSorting to war. We are not looking
Tor trouble We are simply moving with
an idea Of putting the game on a higher
plane. The salary of the PLAYER. we
know, is regulated by the law of suIcN'V
and demand. II we can make the g me
more popular we make it more profitable
financially and then our salaries will in
crease.
THE PUBLIC'S IDEAS
The public has ideas about the ball
J-ayer. Today under the pres, Mt con
tract system, a ball player is locked upon
IS a slave. He is a slave unCer the re-
serve rule. We know that the reser ve
lie is the buiwark Of baseball but it
should rot be abused. What can be done
TO modify it? The players suggest that
it be limited and that no player may be
years
I'VE don't think you have the right
morally or legally, to hold a player for
an indefinite period. Would not baSeb. II
be improved by the changing of star
players from club to club? What we
want is a modification of the reserve
rue Let each club not reserve more
than ten men.
AS to the farming out system. we
want it abolished altogether. There is
no justice in it at all for the player. If
a man ceases to be valuable to a club
or you have somebody that can plav b:s
position better, don't farm him out
Give him his release. Let him have a
chance to play with some club that needs
him.
AS to the system of buying. selling
and claiming players, the player wants
the contract modified so that he will
have something to say in the matter As
the matter stands now the contract is ali
one sided. The PLAYER IS powerless to
do or act
At this point Col. Rogers brought up
the famous contract offered to the league
in 1881, by John Ward, as showing the
weakness Of Mr. Tayior's contentious
Ihat is an isolated case" said Mr.
Iaylor, and dealt not with the transfer
OF a payer, but with an entire club
SHOULD, in the course Of events the mag
mates desire to transfer one Or the ent;ra
team from one city to another the pay.
ers would not object
TO IMPROVE THE GAME.
What we want is to help the magnates
put the game on better status. The
players have talked all these matters
over. They agree with you that rowdy-
ism should be abolished at any cost In
this respect the players have put the
matter up to the owners. The PLAYERS
are humane. In the heat of a game
they lose their heads. But you have
the power to stop it. You have the
power to discipline miraculous players.
Why not administer fines? The ques-
ton of stopping the rowdy ball is up to
you. We want these things put in the
contract We realize that you mag
mates could easily get together and have
a secret understanding that would render
imperative the changes we ask, but we