The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-08-12
-- ------@.--- v. c '.Aa LEAGUE EDIRECTORS WAX HOT
SPRINGEIELD--H0LYOKE MAT
 TER CAUSES TROUBLE.

President WhitIOck Breaks Tie in Vote
 Ordering HoIyOke to Play Game Over
 --HoIyOke Representatives Absolute
 ly Refuse to Do So and Will Appeal
 to National Bonrd--CIaim Rule sus-
 tained by Vote is Clearly Dead
 Letter. s.
 The meeting of the directors of the Connecticut baseball league, which was held last evening at the Hotel Garde to consider the protest of Manager Dan O'Neil of Umpire Smirk's action in for feiting Tuesdays game al Springfield to Holyoke, was one of the hottest ses- sions the directors have held. Dan O'Neil was present representing his own team and by proxy, New Haven. J. J. .Madsen of the Holyoke Telegram and ]. Becker represented the Paper weights at the meeting. Manager Tracy appeared for Hartford, Secretary James H. O'Rourke for, Bridgeport with the Meriden proxy, c. Humphreys for New London and George. Allen for Norwich.
 The protest was taken up at once and Manager Tracy opened the proceedings by motion ordering that the game be played over by Holyoke next Tuesday. Hoiyoke is scheduled at Springfield on that afternoon and the order would re- quire a double header. Manager O'Neil on his proxy for New Haven seconded the motion. A yea and nay vote being ordered resulted in q tie as follows: Yeas-Hartford, New Haven and Norwich. No-Meriden, Bridgeport and New London. Holyoke and Spring l field being the interested parties had no vote. Manager O'Neil voted for New Haven and Secretary O'Rourke for Meriden. The tie having been declared President Whitlock expressed an un- willingness to break the deadlock, but ! finally he cast his vote in favor of the resolution, and the game was ordered to be played over on Tuesday.
 The Holyoke representatives imme- diately served notice on the league di- rectors that thy would absolutely re- fuse to play the game over. They stated that they would appear for their scheduled game, but that the team would not take the field for the second game. Notice of an appeal to the na- tional board was also given. Secretary o Rourke in his official capacity will perform the duty of forwarding the ap- peal and presenting it to the national board.
 ! The question on which the order passed by the directors hinges concern | ed the validity of a rule of the league passed on August g, 1904, providing that before an umpire can forfeit a game he must notify the manager, or in his ab- sence the captain of the home club of his intention so to do This rule was read by President Whitlock's order. The point was then brought up that the rule was a dead letter inasmuch as the league adopted new constitution on January 3, 1905, which placed it un- der the national league rules, which controvert this rule. The complexion of the league was changed by this &C., l tion as it became league inside the national compact with five years lease of life instead of being but an organi- zation from year to year, as heretofore. 1 Iu6 NOIS OL IllS lSttSue pFdCLlCdlly ue- cided that the rule still held.
 Umpire Smirks communication re- | garding his action was read at the meeting. He told that he was compell- ed to put Fitzpatrick out of the game and that upon his refusal to let him ,play again during the same game O'Neil refused to put another player in his place, so he forfeited the game to Holyoke.
 When the vote was taken the claim of O'Neil that he should have been noti- fled by the umpire was sustained by the 4 to vote, in which President Whitlock broke the tie. He gave as his reasons for voting yes that on Umpire Sminks communication and Manager O'Neil's statement he so voted because he believed that the game should be played over on the merits of the case.
 Secretary O'Rourke declared that a player who had been put out of the game could not return to the same game, not for $1,OO0O0O. He said that O'Neil had not leg to stand on in the case and that the national board would undoubtedly sustain Holyoke's appeal and that Holyoke would not be compell- ed to play the game over
 It was stated last evening that Pres