Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-03-09
THE DIAMOND ;

winnie neither side favors war. II can.
,iot DC gaansa1d that the National Tea eua
mas not got all the best Of THE argument.
AZ Ihe AIst place, the parent base,ha1l
oody has unlimited wealth. saws the Gin.
clnnata Enquirer. The men amter,este
IN Ut do not like to lose money hnv hat-
Ter Nnan the average mortal who 4o,1s
uaaly TO accumulate a competence. How.
ever: II 1T must be a fight tor them to
aS'alil dilear interests Intact they will
sN SO the route. The National
.aeue MOT only has the most populouS
citaes, but the recognized stars Of INA
game as Well. 1t is true THAT interesf
III National league ball was waning. MI
Win me amendments in the PLAYING
rules during THE Gotham meeting "a naI
are soaa1g to nave more snap and einrep
10 them. 1t Is hoped by THE magnat "a
70 make the make the maximum time
Tor playing Y game two hours. Bv doins,
ahls, patrons can get home to tlinner.
"utnout having to "put ON tine gloves,
with their wives and mothers about
keeping the table standing too long. Ths
changes will also have tendency to
keep players active, and there will bs
something doing during am entire game,
BY doing this it lis Thought that tina IN.
terest of spectators win be concentra red
IN the sport and they win have litt,X
time to discuss matters entirely foreign
10 the great national game. With good
teams and revival of interest, the Ma.
tlohal ueague hopes to prosper as it has
IN previous years. Baseball players are
conservative as a rule and will think
several times before they jump from tho
National to the new American league.
The players have confidence in the old
organization, which has always paid
salaries. OF course, some ambitious Ma
tlonal league stars who aspire ito man.
aserlal berths i'm the new organization
may jump their contracts. If they do
1t will be simply a question of receiving
more money and glory. The men who
jump will receive iron-clad assurances
or a contract for a term of years at a
good salary, with the money to MAKE
good on deposit in some reputable bank
or elsewhere. Ball players, like EN-.
| ployes or mercantile establishments or
banks ,are simply after all the salary
that they can get. For this no sensible
person will blame them. The experience
of some of the men who deserted the
| league during the year of the Brother
hood still is fresh i'm the minds of most
| players, and a few stars of the diamond
| will jump from one organization to the
| other simply to have his name printed
| in the papers. It is only reasonable to
! suppose that the National league will
pay salaries to its players war or no
| war. At least that is THE impression
among the men who earn their bread
and butter on the diamond.
| No matter how much money the Amer
| ican league people may have, the play
ers will be slow to believe THAT it is thor.
ougly reliable in a financial way in THE
event of a mercless war. The fact that
| only one man has advanced something
like $4,000 to insure the estabhshme ut
Of teams in Philadelphia and Boston is
known ito the players, and is regard ID
by them as an evidence that the stool:
in these new clubs is not much sought
after by capitalists. This is a stnons
argument that must be counteracted in
some practical way before the men in-
terested in the American league cam win
the confidence of players. Experienced
baseball men, who have no connection
with the game at present. have grave
fears about the ability of the American
league to enjoy prosperity this year.
Baseball war is both absurd and annoy
ing. That it is ruinous as we'll has been
proved. The American league promoters
have been unwise in pushing competition
to it's present limit, and ultimately some
Of them may repent it. Viewed in the
/ most optimistic light there is absolutely
nothing about the American league cir
cult as constituted ait present to estab-
lish confidence in the maintenance Of
lligh-priced clubs. Certainly Milwaukee
and Cleveland do not warrant them.
Both cities are said to have host money
last year. Chicago would mot have made
penny last year had it not been for
the small expenses of the team and the
novelty of having a second club in The
Windy City. Detroit did fairly we'll last
year, but is regarded as an uncertainty.
| That comprises the entire western Sec
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