Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-06-12
THE DIAMOND.
Plan to Have a Twelve Club
 Baseball Organization

. Ddu JOuuSOu duu' AuguSL EeTInanIl
 Said to Have Reached anEgreement
 Other Prominent Men Favor the
 President Pulliam Non 1 Comm1ttal. .%
 Cincinnati, June 12-The National
 and American baseball leagues, it is
 rumored here, will consolidate into a
 twelve-club organization, and it is said
 August Hermann, president of the | Cincinnati club, is a prime mover in
 the negotiations. Dan Johnson, presi-
 dent of the American league, who was
 in Cincinnati all day Wednesday and
 held several conferences with Herr
 mann, said: ay
 '':The@ American league is doing
 splendidly, but we want Cincinnati
 and her owners with us, and if we can't get them any other way, I guess we'll
 have to get. down to twelve clubs. It
 has been proved this spring that there
 is not enough talent in the country to supply sixteen first class clubs.'''
 Almost simultaneously with John
 son's announcement was a statement
 from Hermann that in the event of a I twelve-club league being consummated Johnson will be at the head of it. This means, apparently, that club owners of both big leagues already have reached some sort of an agreement to consolidate, and that Hermann is en- gineering the whole thing. Hermann has for some time been in possession of the books of American league clubs I and has been copying the receipts and expenditures.
 | o,,,, efNoy1
 heard what Johnson said in regard to it, and I suppose he knows what he is l talking about. He usually does. I I am not in a position to say what, if anything, has been done toward bring
 ing about a consolidation of the two leagues. That is a matter for the flu ture. I do not doubt it would be a good thing to bring baseball on bet l ter basis than it is being run on at
 present, but what the plan will be to
 bring about this result remains to be seen.''
 Hermann endorses the deal by Daily and Dolan from Chicago and ex- poets those two plawers to accept the, terms and report immediately, but ex- presses regret to see Magoon go. 1 John B. Bruce, part owner of the St Louis American club and that leagues
 attorney, was with Johnson and Herr I mann during their conferences. He talks with much caution, always, and II yesterday he was averse to uttering a word. He mea sured his words with much care and handed them out i'll this ] way:
 q ''As I am at present advised, there will continue to be two leagues. But Ji of course baseball, like everything else,
 may see changes"
 4 Secretary Knowles of the New York National league club was much inter ested in the report that Johnson had I come out in favor of a twelve-club league to take the place of the major II leagues T am not in a position to Il express Brush's views" he said,
 "but am quite sure that ne Is satisfied l with things as they are"
 IE Unofficially, the prospective circuit is given as New York, Brooklyn Bos- either Buffalo or Providence in the
 east, and Pittsburg, Cincinnati, De troit, Cleveland, Chicago and St Louis in the west. I Not later than the season of 1905, land probably the season of 1904. is fixed as the time for the consolidation to go into effect.
 !
 The information that plans are being
 laid for the consolidation of the Ma tionaI and American leagues will not surprise the baseball world, as it was freely predicted after peace was de clared between the two organizations
 that another year would see the es- tablishment of one big league of twelve clubs. President PulIiam of the No4 ,oJ- 1aoc I'd last iohf ho knew nothing of the contemplated deal, -l President Gordon of the New York American league club said he was not } aware that any arrangement looking ), to the consolidation of the two leagues and did not think there was any foun- dation for the story. 'EWe put our
 money in the club here" said MT Cor . don, with the understanding that the . agreement between American league s clubs has eight years to run, and can ;. not understand this report about con
 solidation of interests. We have not
 been approached on the. subject, and I expect the story will be denied by
 President Johnson"
 Chicago, June 12.-''I am glad to hear that Johnson is in favor of a twe1ve-club league,'' said President Hart of the Chicago National league club yesterday. T have always con- tended that there was room for but one major league, and think one league of sixteen clubs is much better than two leagues of eight clubs each. There is
 no city large enought to support two
 clubs, for it divides interest, and the
 clubs do not represent the city, but are
 regarded as4. Jones's club or Smiths
 zE.aT fyI.s slYL
 only one club the interest is united and
 everybody is pulling for his home team
 to win. I don't care to say what cities
 I would prefer in tweIve-club league,
 for have never figured it out.s I'm in
 favor of one league, whatever the size
 of it." gsy.4 ,~s
 President Pulliam of the National
 league said yesterday that he had had
 no inkling of steps to bring about a
 consolidation of the two big leagues. l Iwra Y, IfI V fHx~ z