The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-04-11
PRACTICE THIS WEEK
BALL PLAYERS WILL BEGIN
 HARD WORK.
All of Montgomery Team Here Ex- cept Ed Pabst Who is Due To- day-Frank Willis is Signed.

day-Frank Willis
 is Signed.
  A good, hard weeks work promises to be cut out for the Pretzels beginning to- day, and as Wilkie Clark reached Mont gomery last night. the entire team will practice.
 Ed Pabst is due to reach Montgomery this morning and he will at once take active charge of the management of the team on the field. Charley Schwartz has been acting as field captain during the phenomenal series of games just over. Right here it is simply justice to state that this branch of work could not have been more thoroughly. con scienstiously or better done. In addi- tion to playing some of the most sensa- tional ball ever witnessed in the South. Schwartz has handled the team with judgment and discretion that would have reflected great credit on many an. older head, and he is to be congratulated on his success.
 Pabst will have charge of the work ings of the Pretzels on the field from today and the responsibility being taken of his schoulders Schwartz can get down to even harder work than ever.
 The three-corners of the diamond are fixtures-Jansing on third, Schwartz on second and Pabst on first-and 1t is one, VAt 1T hOb eho AootCots Ah thS aoOueAiShh League
 For the position of .shortstop Heine Busch and Frank Delehanty will have a try and both are far and away above the briliancy of the infield to such mark ed extent that 1t would be 8 source of delight to local fans and equally a source of dread to visiting teams.
 With Denver, Lucas, Roach, Carter, Stultz. Polchow. Molly and Gilbert there obo ha a r,ffHhfno staf this summer.
 The schedule this season has four games instead of three in a series, and four if not five pitchers will be carried an the Pretzel staff. Out of these eight the only difficulty will be to decide on the best. for every one of them have shown up well so far, big Gilbert alone not having had a chance to show what Is in him. In addition to this Frank Willis, a youngster who was in the East be in Montgomery any day. This will give Ed Pabst nine pitchers to select four or five from.
 The outfield seems to be the greatest fixture of the whole bunch. Ike Durrett in left, Carlton Molesworth in center and Link Stickney in right. All three are fast felders and terrific, consistent hit- ters. It is hardly necessary to state that the backstop department is fixture. Last summer Harry Manners and Wilkie N one of the swiftest articles of the kind in the entire South and this summer they look better than over
 John Whitaker has been playing an unusually fast first base and hitting the bah consistently and hard. He was signed for an infielder. but this week will determine what disposition will be made of him.
 Take 1t altogether the Pretzels look like the real championship article.
 
 Case of Evans.
 In the case of Evans and the New Or leans club the National Commission has handed down the following ruling:
 '"The attention of the Commission was called to this case by the player himself He contends that when he signed con tract with the New Orleans club that the reserve clause was stricken from it; that he signed for 1903 only; that the New Orleans club so understood 1t and gave him the player the contract to hold as proof thereof.
 evidence It shows that the reservation clause is stricken out of It. The fol- lowing writing appears on the bottom of it:
 ''I sign contract for balance of sea- son of 1903 only, and the reserve clause must be stricken out; also, transportation from New Orleans to Louisville, Ky
 '"rhe player also submits an agreement signed by MT. Wrigley, manager of the New Orleans Club, stating, among other things. therefore, have no right to re- serve you for the current year.
 "Mr. Kavanaugh, the president of the Southern Association of Baseball Clubs, contends, among other things as follows:
 Evans has played in the South dur ing the last two seasons. He has never signed contract, and has been held under the National agreement, which pro- Vided that contract should be presented to him in accordance with hls acceptance of terms. Our record shows that for the season of 1908 the Memphis club pre- scented a contract to him and he declined to sign it, which fact was communicated to the president of the association, and he was held under our national agree inent as the property of the Memphis club. Later on, during the season of 1903, he was released to the New Orleans club, and he continued with 1t as he had with the Memphis club. No con- tract with him was ever approved by me, and if he submits any contract con- taining the terms which you have out lined it was one which was rendered him by the New Orleans club. and never re- turned to them for their approval and for the approval of the president of the Southern League. He simply kept the contract and made changes in it to suit himself. He continued to play during the season with the New Orleans club.
 "'EVans was subject to reservation by the Memphis club and, being so when he was transferred to the New Orleans club. he was subject to reservation by that club, and they did reserve him in the proper manner. They gave him notice Of notified the president of the Southern League that they had, given him such notice, and placed his name upon the reserve list. which list was duly pro- mulgated by me as president of the Southern League and by J. H. Farrell. of the National Board. Mfr: Evans was just as much subject to reser- vation as any member of the New Orleans club. and the fact that he has seen fit to change a contract which was offered him. but which he never signed, and which he never returned to the New Or leans club ought not to serve as his release from reservation.
 There is no evidence to show that the player changed the contract. Both the agreement and contract submitted by him are signed by the manager or the New Orleans Club.
 on this subject Cease No. 20 are as fol- lows:
 I. Where a contract contains a res ervation clause the player shall not be held to be free from reservation unless the clause is stricken out of the contract.
 "2. Where a contract does not contain a reservation clause every club, neverthe- less, has a right to reserve player un- less the player can produce a written agreement that he was not to be reserved, or a prepCnderance of evidence to that ef- feet.
 "'S On and after December 15 of this year all written agreements releasing player from reservation must be written on the same document as the contract it.