The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-10-28
SOUTHERN LEAGUE
NOW IN CLASS A
Only Five Big Leagues can
Make Drafts
DRAFTING FEES ADVANCED
Class A A Is Formed, Which Includes
the American Association, the Pa
clflc Coast League and
Eastern League.
DRAFTING FEES ADVANCED

New York. October 27.--After two days
of routine business and sight seeing, the
National Association of Professional
Baseball leagues today took the most i'm
portant action of its present convention,
when ii added to its mandates what Will
be known as Glass AA. The association
voted after much opposition on the part
of the lower class leagues to add the new
class, subject to the approval OF the ma
tional commission, and the national board
of the association was empowered to ap-
pear before the national commission in
January In favor of the proposition.
Heretofore the association has consisted
of classes 4, B, c, and ID leagues. CLASS
A was privileged to draft players from
any of the lower clubs on payment OF an
established fee, and the two major
leagues, the National and the American,
which are parties Of the first part to the
national agreement, were privileged to
draft from ali the association classes In
the past the fees for drafting players
from the four classes were $3.50, $500. $500
and $3.50 If the national commission ap-
proves the action taken today, the fees
for drafting from Glass "A down to
Glass d will be $500, $1O00 $3.50, $500 and
$40O respectively.
Small Leagues Object.
All but the proposed Class AA and
! Class A leagues opposed the change on
| the ground that they have lost too many
| PLAYERS under the fourth class rule, and
| the adoption would subject them to fur
/ ther drafting. The high fees were adopt
/ ed as a sort of compromise with the OPP
ponents of the new class If approval is
H. al gaaf11 igEi n
| Glass "A will be composed of the Ameri-
can association, the Pacific Coast league
| and the Eastern league and Class A of
| the Southern and Western leagues. All
were formerly In Glass A except the
| Southern league, which was advanced
| from Glass
The national board of the national as
sociation will meet the members OF the
national commission in Cincinnati in jan
uary.
The national board elected George Te-
beau of Louisville, of the American as
| sociaton, chairman, and j. H. Farrell OF
Auburn N. Y, of the New York state
league, secretary.
Judge w. H. Kavanaugh of Little Rock,
president of the Southern league, repre-
sented that body on the board.
Departs From Rule.
The association voted to depart from
its rule not to play exhibition games
outside of national agreement clubs
/ Games will be played with semi-profes-
sjonal, professional and amateur clubs
when such games do not conflict with
the schedule, but not with the clubs which
contain blaclxlisted players or players who
are also ineligible to play with national
| agreement clubs
Though already stringent. the rule con-
| cerning the employment of a contract
| Jumper was more tightly drawn, IN
that a player who hereafter pumps con-
tract will be forever disqualified IL
was also decided that a player farmed
by an association club to another asso-
citation club must play with the latter
through that season and that he cannot
be recalled by the club loaning him.
IT was voted to meet next year in San
| Francisco.
FINAL adjournment was taken this even
| ing.
troll of competing railroads, still hold that
| control and 50 far as any action OF tn'
| administration Is concerned, they may
/ keen and use 1t to the end OF time. Neither
| Mr.. Roosevelt nor his attorney generali
have run amuck' or otherwise since
Only Way to Curb Trusts.
Mr.. Roosevelt admits that trusts ant
! combinations inJure the people ana oush
/ to be suppressed. The 'only sure way i
to reduce the exorbitant tariff take
which have produced most of them. II
does not favor that course. SO long a.
those taxes remain so high as effectuall'
to prevent competition from the OUTSIDE
or the fear of it, home competition vii
be stified, and the guilty parties Will reD
| on evasions, technicalities and ADMINS
trations made friendly, or at least no
hurtfully hostile. with liberal campaign
contributions and the other methods AZ
ways open to combined wealth and power
"If Mr. Roosevelt has changed NJ
mind and now thinks that, atter al
trusts and combinations are good Things
one of the modern methods of progress
that the idea Of competition being pen
eft to the people is one OF the notions
we have outgrown. like public economy
and so many others. or that the purdehs
imposed on the people should be borne
rather than reduce the tariff taxes on
trust products, then he should be FRANK
enough to say so and advise the repea
of the antitrust law. II he has not
changed his mind, why are there no fur
ther prosecutions under that law?"