Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-12-16
THE DIAMOND
WORK IS OVER
National League Magnates Com pIete Their Labors Other Bits
 of Base Ball News.

f New 1OTkt D0C. IO-N ltu thC oOttiS ment of the draft question to the sat isfaction of the minor leaguers, and with recommendation declaring more strongly in favor of clean baseball, the meeting of the National league came to a close yesterday. 1Tyaere was long session at the Victoria hotel after the board of directors met and fie afternoon period was taken up With considering the question of the draft difficulty. The National Association of Minor leagues met at the Fifth Ay- enue hotel yesterday, too. but its hnsl- ness was taken up mostly with await ing the decision of the joint commit tee on the new scale of drafting.
 The new board of directors was made up of A. H. Soden of Boston. William J. Shettsline of Philadelphia. Charles W. Murphy of Chicago, Bar ney Dreyfuss of Pittsburg and Charles H. Ebbetts of Brooklyn. This board held its meeting merely for the pur- pose of organization and soon after it gathered the meeting of the other delegates began.
 < The business was soon over. It was announced that schedule of l5+ games was favored by the league. This is the same number as was play ed last year. The playing season is to begin April F and end on October '. President Pulliam was appointed to be the representative of the Ma tional league in the committee of the two major leagues on schedule mak- ing. The post-season series was dis cussed and it was the sense of the meeting that the championship series was an excellent thing. Some one remarked that the National league might be expected to approve of the series in view of its outcome. The Spalding baseball was adopted as the official league ball for the next six years. The next meeting of the league in February, will be for the purpose of arranging the seasons schedule.
 The meeting of the minor leaguers was somewhat delayed by the absence of President Bancroft B. Johnson If the American league, who came into the Fifth Avenue hotel along abont l o'clock. He went into conference with August Hermann of Cincinnati. the representative of the National league, and a committee composed of W. H. Watkins of Minneapolis. J. II. Farrell of Auburn and D. H. Shively, the latter the president of the Vest ern association. to settle on the de- mands of the minors for the new draft. After a short while the con ference broke up until the matter could be referred back to the National league. Later it was announced that It had been decided that hereafter each club should be liable to the draft of one man.
 The scale of prices for the single player was then arranged so as to read: Class A, $1,000; Class B. $750: Class c, $500 and Class D. $500. Hith- erto, for instance. in Class A teams were liable to a draft of two men. to receive $750 apiece for them. The dis cussion turned also on the point of q single payment for each player draft ed. On previous occasions it had been the custom to make the payment in two equal parts. The first was put down when the player was taken over, the other by the end of August. or when the player was returned to his club or turned over to another, as as case might be. This new classifi- cation was eminently satisfactory te the minor clubs.
 1t was not announced whether this grading would act in the case of play CTS sold out, so that the major league clubs might in some instances be com pelled to take the inferior players left after such sales had been put through. By this plan the clubs could call in players sold in this way after the regulation draft had been made and suffer only a little by it. The general impression was that the draft cov- cred all the players of a club from the best to the worst.
 The Southern league was advanced to Class X as result of the meeting yesterday. The National Association of Minor Leaguers then adjourned to meet in Chicago January II and 12.
 There was very little discussion of the Pulliam affair yesterday, the gen eral impression being that his election was really never a matter of doubt. James A. Hart in talking of the move ment to place him in opposition to Mr Pulliam, said that he had not the slightest desire to hold the place. Had I been anxious to continue as actively as all that in baseball,T said he, '1 should not have given up the Chicago club. There is almost no job I would less like to hold than that now occupied by Mir Pulliam. It certainly Is thankless and ones path is con stantly beset with troubles"