Omaha daily bee., 1906-08-12
SPORTING GOSSIP OF WEEK
Trouble in Base Ball World outshinss
Championship Races.
EFFECT or TtBEAvIsn ON TWO LEAGUES
Western and American Association
Both suffer Because of the Policy
Adopted by This Man and
His Supporters.


pretty much up in the air just at present
and are simply worrying along. waiting for
the close of the season. Some reform
will have to come with next summer or
there'll be no Western league. Not that
It isn't good proposition, for It is, but
for the reason that the public will not
stand for another such season as the one
now slowly closing. The trouble Is due
wholly to the tactics adopted by the Can
tillons and Tebeau. Bound to rule, at
whatever cost, they have foisted their pol
icy on the league, and have all but wrecked
It. BY the tactics pursued they have
alienated interest In every town in the
league, until the attendance at the ma
jority OF the games Is pitiful in comparison
with what II ought to be. Keeping an
incompetent man for president and official
head of the organization, and handling him
as mere puppet, the Cantillon-Tebeau
policy has very nearly ended the Western
league as a paying proposition. 1t will
be up to the other team owners to pro-
vide for a new deal next season II they
are to stay in the business. The league
would be in a most prosperous instead OF
most precarious state II 1t had not
been for the influence of these disturbers.
.
A silly story was printed in Denver and
Des Moines during the week, to the ef-
feet that Cantillon and Tebeau were to
take Des Moines and Denver and land
them in the American association next
season, in order to secure absolute control
of that organization. Neither of the
papers using the yarn undertook TO say
which of the present American towns
would be dropped, but the inference is
that 1t would be Columbus and Indian
apolls as they are the most radical OPP
ponents of Tebeauism In that circuit. That
would be a swell trade, to be sure, and
Milwaukee, Toledo, st. Paul and Mime
apolis would be tickled to death with It.
OF course Louisville and Kansas City
would have to be. Just imagine Des
Moines, with its $1,000 people, taking the
place of Indianapolis with its 10000. And
think how the teams would love to make
the jump from Toledo to Denver. This story
is evidently the output of the same bright
young pipe smoker who manufactured the
interview for Tlperino ONel about Des
Moines having the fastest club that ever
played In the Western league.
But something is likely to happen In the
American association before next season. 1t
is not likely that the circuit will be
changed, but the control will. It has been
continual series of scandals over there
from the first OF the year. First came the
deadlock over the election OF a president,
which resulted in O'Brien holding over.
Then the row between Lennon and Kelly,
which hasn't been settled yet Next the
row over the use of the Victor ball, 1t be-
ing repeated that Tebeau was under finan-
cial obligations to the Victor manufacturers
and was foisting tho ball on the league to
discharge his debt. This resulted in a de-
clsion that each team could suit itself as
to the ball used, and the result is that
four are using the Victor and four some
other ball. Finally, the most unsavory ep-
isode OF modern base ball history g made
public. Minneapolis files charges against
Umpire Owens, alleging that he has been
betting on games. This after Owens has
been assaulted on the Minneapolis grounds
and roughly treated An investigation is
ordered, and Minneapolis supports the
charges with numerous affidavits, specifying
the instances and the sums wagered by
Owens on the outcome Of the games Owens
establishes that these afidavits have been
manufactured to order by Minneapolis, one
broken-down gambler of the Twin Cities
admitting that he signed four OF them, a
different name TO each. and was paid a
small sum OF money for doing so. Presi-
dent o'Brien exonerates the umpire, but
the case against Minneapolis is not closed
yet. Just what the outcome will be is be-
yond conjecture, but somebody ought TO be
expelled from organized ball for bringing
30 foul blot on the game. This case is
direct outgrowth OF Tebeauism. Lennon
is Tebeau supporter. and his fight on
Kelly was to keep him from getting con-
troll of Minneapolis. and thus making
another vote against the Tebeau policy.
That Kelly stoops to such trickery doesn't
excuse It; he has simply borrowed a page
from the enemys book. that's all. And
base ball is suffering from the continued
application OF the tactics of the great
George.
In the National league there has been
recrudescence OF Muggsy McGraw that Is
likely to breed trouble for the rest OF the
year at least. On Tuesday 1l,0oO people
were disappointed OF a ball game and given
rain checks because the great and only
Muggsy would not let the umpires assigned
by President Pulliam come into the ground.
Muggsy said he feared a riot. Rats! When
did Muggsy become so timorous? He has
melted too many riots to easily convince
anybody that he is afraid OF one now. II
can only be accounted for on the ground
that he was afraid that tombstone would
do what he did on Monday. put him on
the grounds when he got too obstreperous.
It's hard for McGraw to see the honor and
glory OF champion fading away from his
team, but OF one championship he is we'll
assured. He will always be known as tho
prize disturber Of base ball. In the mean
time the game goes to Chicago. according
to President Pulliam, and New York will
have to pay a fine OF 81 900 for McGraw's
tantrum. Such exhibitions do the game no
good, east or west.
The manly and courageous stand taken
by President Pulliam in this case has in
creased his admirers by thousands through
out the country. He put the case so
plainly and unmlstal0ably that nothing
was left for the New York bulldozers but
to back down, which they did Johns
tone and Bmslie were admitted TO the