The Saint Paul globe., 1902-03-15
ARE READY TO START
NATIONAL LEAGUE CLUBS WILL
OPEN SEASON EXACTLY
ON TIME
PLAY SCHEDULE IS COMPLETE
Fight Between SpaIding and Freed
man Will Not BE Dropped, but
the Eight Clubs Will Work
Together.

CHICAGO, March 14-Despite their
apparent inactivity and bitter wrangling
in and out of the law courts, the club
owners of the National league have not
been idle during the last two months.
Working quietly, these magnates have
perfected all their arrangements to open
the season exactly on time, and what is
more, to operate on the basis of an eight
club circuit.
A playing club schedule has been pre-
pared, each club has signed a full COM
plement of players, a staff of umpires has
been secured, and the old league people
are in a position to open the gates of
their respective parks and begin playing
ball on forty-eight hours notice.
1t developed yesterday that the leaders
of the Spalding and Freedman factions
have been indulging in a deal of secret
correspondence during the last six weeks
Scores of letters marked personal and
important" have passed between the
camps of the clashing factions, with the
result that both sides have agreed to play
on an eight-club basis this season, no
matter what may be the result of the le-
gal battle between Spalding and Freed
man. AS a cold matter of fact the feel
ing between the rival factions is even
more bitter now than it was at the begin
ming of the row. Spalding and Freed
fight for the supremacy, but at the same
time they have agreed that it would be
absurd to allow their differences to post
pone or interfere in the slightest degree
with the playing of the championship
games during the coming season. There
is precious little sentiment in professional
baseball at the best, and under the ex-
isting conditions there is absolutely none
in the National league But at the same
time these ciJh owners do not iatap5 ~
lose single stray dollar by closing
their ball parks. All next summer these
foolish magnates will struggle in and out
of the courts. Thousands of dollars will
be spent by the leaders, but a good pro-
portion of the money that will be spent
will come from the pockets of the people
who are expected to patronize the games
IL is sheer nonsense to say that the de-
clsion of the supreme court judge in New
York, who is now pondering over the legal
merits of the contention between Spald-
ing and Freedman, will settle the diff
Guilty. The fight will be carried on 6V
ooth men with ferocious vigor until the
annual meeting of the National league
next November. In the meantime. all
sorts of deals and counterdeals will be
framed up and consummated Men who
are now prominent in the councils of
the league will be either frozen out or
fought out, and the league itself will be
reorganlzed on new lines, no matter
winch side triumphs. For the next six
months the National league will, in all
probability, be operated without the serv-
ices of a president, but nevertheless II
VIII continue to do business at the old
stand.
Every club owner in the circuit has now
IN MS possession copy Of the playing
schedule which has been prepared by the
venerable Nick Young This schedule
VIII undoubtedly prove satisfactory to a
majority of the clubs, for it is built on
conservative lines. AS far as possible Mr.
Young has avoided clashing with the
American league, and there will be COM
paratively few conflicting dates between
the rival teams in Chicago, st. Louis,
Philadelphia, and Boston. This means
that the patrons of the game in the
aforesaid cities will see baseball everv
day in the season.
Mr. Young has also secured his staff of
umplres, although the engagement of
these judges of the games will not be an
nounced for some time to come
Inc next official move of these discreet
magnates will be made in about ten davs-
James A. Hart, the president of the chi
cago Club, is returning East from his re-
cent conference with Spalding in Cali
1ornla. He is due in Chicago tomorrow
Directly ON his return he will confer with
John 4. Brush, who win represent the
freedman clubs. Then a meeting of thp
league Will be called, and at the confer
ence Youngs schedule will be adopted.
ana all the other necessary arrangements
Tor the opening of the playing season
Will be quickly perfected. At this meet
ing of the league, which will be held in
some Eastern city, probably New York.
the club owners will indulge in lot of
wire pulling and play the game of base
palI politics to the limit, but it is not at
an hkely that any official action will be
taken IN breaking the existing deadlock
over the presidency. The head0uarters of
the league will remain in Washineton
ana the purely routine work of mana gine
the umpires and issuing the bulletins an
hounclng the signing and releasing of
players will be done by Nick Young and
his son Robert.