The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-10-16
SHIVELEY FINDS IT
Topeka Can't Leave Western
Association, He Says.
Unearths Two Years. Agreement
Made Last Spring.
TO STAND AS IT is.
Won't Give Up Unless Town Is
Drafted.
Probably Means Topeka Will
Have to Stay.
TO STAND AS IT is.

Article 3. section 1. constitution and
bylaws Of the Western association,
adopted at the Baltimore hotel, Kan
sas City, No, March Is, 1905: "This
association shall consist Of eight clubs,
located in the following named cities:
Topeka, Oklahoma City, Guthrie,
Wichita, Leavenworth, Joplin, Sedalia,
and Springfield, or such other cities as
may from time to time be elected to
membership therein as hereinafter
provided for, but in no event shall
there be more than one club in any
city. This compact shall be binding
for two years.
Like a thunderbolt out of a clear
sky President d. NJ. Shiveley of the
Western association today springs the
above into baseball matters through
out the middle west which for some
/ days has been turbulent with reports
that the Western association would
practically be disrupted by losing To-
] peka and Wichita to the Western
! league because the ShiVeley circuit
! had no agreement.
This compact shall be binding for
! two years." says article 8, section I.
And 1t is bona fide printed in cold
/ black type affair. Shiveley was asked
/ about the Topeka and wichita West
ern league talk, and in answer he
simply produced a little lead-colored
/ book, which contained the printed con-
/ sutuuon and bylaws of the Western
/ association, adopted on March 3 of
! this year. Copies of it were sent over
I the circuit but they seem to have got
/ ten lost. W. F. Logan, the eX-secre-
tary of the Topeka White Sox, was
| on the revising committee. He said
that since his memory is now logged
up he remembers the. passage of the
] tWo-year agreement. But i had for
/ gotten all about it, he said today,
land when O'Neill was here two weeks
| ago I told him that I thought there
was no agreement. I also told Dick
Cooley and Herman Crow the same
thing"
So this morning bright and early
! Crow sent a telegram TO Cooley, who
/ is now in Chicago fixing up plan for
! Topeka to enter the Western league,
/ telling him of the find" It changes
/ the color of the horse entirely. It
| means that Topeka must remain ia
the Western association another year.
/ The agreement entered into is entirely
/ irOnclad, and there is no subterfuge-
! The only loophoIe left now is Tor the.
/ Western league to- pay down 81. 90,
and buy or draft Topeka
''They may do that" was suggested
to shiveley.
ooh, I guess not was .Shiveley's re-
/ New York and Chicago and had sew
eral conferences with the heavy men
] in the baseball business, and they. said
/ they would protect me from draft
Then you know. or perhaps you don't"
! said Shiveley with a smile of conf
| dence, there is not a single instance
| of town being drafted in baseball
history, although the privilege has
been a law for many years."
This was about the sum Of Shiveley's
remarks. He admitted that he has sew
eral things I'D his sleeve and that he
has been making hay. He feels conf
dent that his Western association which
i he has built UP so successfully will not
/ be disrupted at least this year. He
/ gently limited at some big towns being
/ in his circuit next year. St. Joe and
| Lincoln for instance. The advices that
! Ducky Holmes had already secured his
release from the Chicago White Sox to
put a Western league team into Lin
! coin next year didn't seem to worry
him a hit. Wen see" was all he said.
That some tall jockeying win be done
/ within a few days in middle west minor
( baseball circles is an evident fact. From
/ present appearances the Western
/ league viii be in Kansas City, No,
next year to play whenever the Aneri-
can association is away. Now Shive-
ley wants Kansas City, Kan, badly. He
will lose Topeka after another year TO
( the Western league. A little politics is
to be attempted, the gist of which is to
have Shiveley give up Topeka to the
! Western league for the privilege of put
ting in a Western association team in
Kansas City, Kan. To effect the lat
ter Shiveley must have the consent Of
the Kansas City. Mo, franchises for
baseball law plainly declares that a
franchise cannot be established within
five miles of the city limits of a town
which already contains regular recog-
nized franchise. This is the channel
through which an effort will now be
made to still land Topeka in the West
ern league for next year.
But there are some great things brew
ing in minor league baseball for 1906
The annual meeting has been trans
ferred from San Francisco to New York
city and will take place next January
1t may be possible that the entire west
ern minor league baseball map will be
revised. That may in some way set
tie the controversy now on between
Shiveley and the Cantillion-Tebeau-
/ O'Neill crowd. If it does not a very
pretty fight may be looked for during
the rest of the winter. Shiveley is
[ fighting for the league he has built
up. If he has to give I'D he wants
| something in return in the way of
other good circuit material. It is a
big question as to how much he can
do against the money and franchise in
/ terests Of his opponents. Cantillion, Te-
L beau and O'Neil are chums. Cantilhon
owns the Milwaukee and Des Moines
franchises. Tebeau owns the Denver,
II Kansas City and Louisville franchises
II O'Neiu is rated at about $4,000 and It
is not known whether ne has money in
franchises or not, but he very. probably
has. Those are big odds to fight and
they are what Shiveley is up against
His biggest asset for next year is that
single line in the bylaws which he pro-
duced today: This compact shall be
binding for two wears and it NAV save