Waterbury Democrat., 1903-02-13
GOSSIP OF THE DIAMOND.
Principle in the National League.

The same motives that prompted Col. Arthur Lynch to take up arms for the Boers, although he knew the charge of high treason would be put against his name for so doing, moved John T. Brush to oppose the majority of the National league baseball magnates at the recent Cincinnati meeting. He thought he was fighting a battle of principle, and only yielded when he he was shown by Garry" Hermann and Col. James A. Hart that he was on the wrong trail. It required cour- age for MT. Brush to bring suit for injunction against the National league with a possibility of having to give bond for 1,5oo,ooo. He receded gracefully from his beligerent atti- tude, however, and gave to baseball a firm and unwavering peace.
 MT. Brush is thought by many follow CTS of the national game to be only a representative of the old Freedman Tammany interests in the New York Baseball club. Put this is not the truth. I have 1t from an honorable member of the National league, him self a stoclzho1der in the New York club, that MT. Brush is the real owner of a ma ajority of the stock of the Gotham club. He wsts acting within his rights l and to protect his vested interests. The story of MT. Brush's long connec- tion with. baseball has been lost in the whirligig of time, but as matter of fact be is to-day the most unique character left in the old league. Es- i sentially business man-he swept out store and built fires years ago and began at the foot of the ladder, as did Marshall Field. He was induced to take an interest in baseball in Indian l apolis.
 For considerable time the capital | ist permitted his baseball ventures to l be only side issue with him. I'm a business man, with a fancy for backing baseball teams he would say. But the 1 time came when MT. Brush became so infatuated with the job of s'magnate" that he bought an interest in the Cin- cinnati ball club of the National league. Retaining his Indianapolis team in the minor league, MT. Brush was attacked I by the minor leaguers as magnate taking an unfair advantage of his mi- nor league confreres. The critics said he 'sfarmed" good major league ! players in his minor league team, won l the pennant with them and then drew
 them back to his major league team whenever he wanted to.
 There came time when his minor league holdings seemed to vanish like
 smoke. The baseball business for MT. Brush narrowed to his Cincinnat Ii hold- ings. When syndicate was formed in that city to buy him out, it was sup l posed that Brush, 'The Smooth" was I 'soff the baseball map" But he turned
 up in New York, richer in holdings I than ever. And then, in his old Cin- I cinnati home, came the unsuccessful I fight of the magnate against nearly I all of his associates. He will not admit that this is to be his last year in base ball, but is awaiting the entrance of l the American league into Greater New York with the scent of legitimate I baseball warfare filling his nostrils. union, so will the baseball struggle l for patronage there be the hardest
 in the country. All the sfans" will
 watch the New York rivals and see
 what s'smoke" MT. Brush will raise.
 E. G. WEsTLAKE. | Cincinnati Feb 13.-Billy Hallman { the ball player who is doing variety 4 of character iii Kidnapped in New i York" here this week, will soon leave the show to begin rehearsals with the l Philadelphia National league club. q saw Lajoie in Cleveland last week, Z
 said Hallman, and he is in pretty bad shape. He is very feeble, and I am sure he will not be able to go south I with the team next month, and it will
 be well along in the summer before he I is himself again. He confessed that he had suffered greatly He is able te l be up only short time even now 7 J Hallman is not certain ip what posi- tion he will be played next season. He has a suspicion that he may be asked l to get behind the bat again s'If they want me to catch, I am willing to gc 1 there,' said Hallman. Anything, SC long as can play base ball in the biz l league"
 I New York, Feb 13.-Presidentl Bar l Johnson of the American league ar \ IlNSus ACIG w Stu6Sudy IuOTnln9 ITOu
 Washington. He spent the day fixing
 up final details in regard to the new 1 grounds in this city, and said that the l formal announcement of the location
 would be made at the meeting of the l league to be held at the Fifth Avenue l hotel on February 24. "We have SC
 cured our grounds here all right" sait l President Johnson, "and they will bt ready for the opening championship l game on April 9. The announcement l will be delayed until February 24 fol
 business reasons, but there is no cause l for worry. Everything is plain sailins and the American league will make l good all its promises. I will leave fol l Chicagoto-day thoroughly satisfied witt the situation" President Johnson says
 Fred Portal will retire from the Wash I ington club to take the Detroit cIuI from s. T. Angus, the millionaire own
 CT of that franchise, who arrived here
 Wednesday night to see the American
 league president. w. !. Lambert vii
 be the new president of the Washing
 ton club and Senator German will have
 a block of the stock. Several CoIum
 b1a university men called on President IIN NcSrNr1 ~,L4 IL. Il