The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-03-02
NEW BASEBALL LAW
PLAYER OWNING STOCK CANNOT BE SOLD.
His Consent Must Be Secured Before He Can Go to Another Team --lsufinE Attracts At-
 tenffan

Little Rock. Ark, March 1.--(Specia) "A clause unknown to many managers of ball clubs may attract especial at tention throughout fandom in the near future inasmuch as the law may be so followed as to permit managers to cov- past. when farms" for players were tolerated. If not openly approved.
 The baseball law in question stipu- lates that no ball player owning stock in a club may be sold or drafted by another club, without his consent.
 The question came up locally in the case of Bill Douglass. the big first baseman of the Little Rock club. Douglass owns stock in the Little Rock Association valued at $250 at par. Therefore. according to the ruling, he . cannot be sold or drafted without con- sent of himself. He is willing to sell his stock. however, but wants for 1. In the event of his stock being sold he
 will have to abide by action of the Lit tie Rock management in case of sale. or else retire from active participation in games played under the national or ganizatfon. Douglass has been sold to Vancouver, in far British Columbia but says he has enough money to set tie down in we1lsville, Mo-, for the rest of his natural days.
 sThe ruling was made originally to protect an old ball player, who had accumulated little money and invest. ed 1t in club he had liking for, said Manager Finn, speaking of the law. "It was intended to protect player who had chosen home in some higher league drafting him, or prevent the sale of the player. But can read fly see where manager, having a away from him, can give the player one share of stock and then absolutely own him or cover him up from draft. l think the law will finally be repealed, because it leaves an opening for fun. ny work. Iventure to say that not 100 people in the country know of this law.
 of numerous schemes to evadesthe sal ary limit was unearthed when tne proposition was brought up to estab- be accorded ball players for living ex- penses during the practice season.
 Manager Frank declared that when players report for duty in the spring as much expense money as the club deems fit. His players usually report twenty to thirty days earlier than those
 Manager Finn contended that It would be possible for a club manager to have a player report as early as the first of the year. and by paving paving him t5a salary limit. For instance, player whose contract calls for $2O0 month the limit, may report Jan. 1, draw down S100. per month expense money and thus run his salary up to half again as much as the contract calls for. form expense account be allowed each club for each player. He proposed $l5 1 a week as the right sum. When vote was taken four voted against and four for. The decision being left to Judge Kavanaugh. he cast with Franks in- terests and the clubs may allow man any expense money they see fit. Getting $i.000 year for a ball play CT that doesn't cost anything to start with. and who only drew expenses and salary for two days, is not often given to baseball association. But last season the Little Rocka.Club landed it on an outfelder named Wilson. The latter was secured by Finn to take the place of Dakfn Miller. who was doing came, Finn was about to turn Miller oyer to Meridian. but Dusty begged so hard Finn kept him. Wilson was put in uniform, although he told he had at the park in a game against Mem phis and sat on the bench throughout the game. In the ninth inning. with the score tied. man on bases and two out, a Little Rock pitcher was up. Turning to Wilson, Finn said: "Go up and see what you can do." Wilson plucked a hit and won the game. The next day Finn announced he was going to turn Miller loose. The directors threw up their hands and wanted to drop Jack Gilbert. Eleven years have seen Finn and Gilbert together, and rather than lose the Rabbit unless he wanted to go, Finn turned Wilson over to Des Molnes, Ia., but with strings attached. There he batted up in the pictures, and when Pittsburg drafted him in the fall Little Rock got the prize money.
 Few clubs in the circuit can be named as to individual players. and Little Rock is no exception. No question but what each club has an eye to big league discards when the sitting pro- cess following preliminary games are finished and the chaff separated from the wheat of big league material. Lit tie Rock has two catchers in Lake and Starke and a number of pitchers to pick from, including Eyler, Buchanan, Hart and Walters. and a couple more regarded as corners, but chances are that two good twirlers will drop from the big leagues. Finn may also want an infielder, since Eastern league clubs refused to waive on Maiding but the outfield will probably be an easy mat lar