The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-12-14
BALL PLAYERS
SALARIES DROP
49,
Big Leagues Cutting Down Next
Seasons Expenses.
WAR TINES ARE NOW OVER
ORGANIZED BASEBALL Is CAUSE
OF THE CHANGE.
WAR TIMES ARE NOW OVER

New York, Dec. 1S-Not since the
American league has been in existence
has there been such scaling of salaries
as this year. Some of the players caught
shrlnkage of their incomes before 1904
put nothing like the extent to which it
mas been suggested this year by the
owners of the teams.
Ihe players, of course who are hit
are making quite an ado about the
matter Ihey have been taught TO
believe that the American league is the
great original booster of salaries and
they do not quite relish the notion of
losing any part of their pay through
action taken by those who induced them
10 jump their first contracts with the
National league.
come was repeatedly pointed out to the
players, but with their usual accept
ailce OF the theory that il is better to
i've IL the present than TO think of the
future, they made the leap and now are
III a position where they nave no power
to help themselves if they have the in
clination.
In the meantime. strange as it may ap-
pear, and 10 some extent not the result
OF philanthropy but of business rivalry.
the National league will pay more liberal
salaries this year in many instances
Wnere there are conflicting CLUBS in the
same city. This is where the PLAYER in
the American league feels that the boot
Is pinching his foot particularly hard
IL Is partly the outcome of long time
contracts. which were signed in order TO
retain National league players. and there
has been no effort to reduce the salaries
nor is there likely to be-
Fhat the, American league would some
Tune have TO put a cold compI ess on
Players were eating up all the receipts
or the game, and owners were being left
with not enough to pay their ground rent.
Wnen the suggestion Of cutting salaries
wa Il.
who asked that they be released out
right. as they wanted TO returne to the
National league, but the American
league owners, after the hard fight they
had made to get the men, could not see
It that way. and could not be blamed
for their stand.
There has been no favOritism in the
matter of salary cutting. Even the cham
pions in Boston have heard the sad news
although there is none of the Boston
men who viii be unable to provide him
self with bread and butter next summer
by the hard-heartedness of Mr. Taylor.
the owner Of the club. All will draw
liberal salaries in spite of the fact that
they arc not quite so high as they were
when the American and National leagues
snorted fire whenever they -talkeu about
one another,
1t is we'll known fact that the Chi
cago and Philadelphia American league
clubs are not high saiaried at the best
and there isn't very much prcba bility
that the players in those organizations
have been asked to accept very much
less. unless 1t be some man who has not
lived up TO the terms of his contract or
has fallen off so in play that he is no
longer considered so valuable to tibet team.
There may be some chopping on the
part of some of the National league
clubs when they come 10 get their men in
line. 1t will happen. however in those
organizat tons where the work WIS below
the standard last year. for most of the
good players in the clubs which were
leaders in the National league Lave al
ready signed some at 1904 figures. and a
few with advances because of their good
work.