Los Angeles herald., 1908-06-29
BASEBALL WAR
NOW UNDER WAY
COAST LEAGUE AND OUTLAWS
ARE FIGHTING
FORMER SEEKS TO PUT LATTER
OUT OF BUSINESS
National Commission Believed to BE
Backing Ewing and His Associates
Against cy Moering and His
Partners

Ihere Is to be real fight between
the Pacific coast and State league
magnates before the former gets con-
trol of the territory now held by the
latter and that fight is as sure as fate
IN lts coming: The Pacific Coast league
OF the field in California and rid itself
OF menace that is more real than
IMAGINARY 1t is known that the dec
laratlon of war; made by the Pacific
coast league on its outlaw rival, Is not
merely war between two leagues, but
sne coast league is the instrument of
hoped success for the national COM
mission; and the commission, compris-
ing ali the leagues in organized base
pail today, Is backing the Coast league
in its fight.
DEPRESSING bit for the purpose OF IL
iustratlon, 1t might be cited as proof
or The foregoing statement that Coast
league managers are using every in
ducement, financial and otherwise, to
get outlaw players to return to the fold
of organized baseball via the Coast
league contract route, and the mere
matter of exorbitant salaries does not
enter into the consideration. 1t is
known as a fact that the Coast league
magnates are not crazy enough to take
players away from the outlaws at sal
aries greater than Is paid the stars
now playing In the league without
having lots of somebody else's change
on hand to make good these contracts.
Outlaws Scent Battle
For the purpose of showing that the
outlaw State league has scented the
battle powder and is not be caught
mapping, 1t is only necessary to
quote the interview of Charley Gra-
ham, the Sacramento delegate in the
outlaw league congress, given to San
Francisco a q crn
Graham says:
What does it mean?" when asked
to explain the resolution to provide a
sinking fund. "It means that If we are
going to have fight on our hands,
we will have some money with
which to fight and that the entire State
league will be behind us. The Coast
leagues attempts to get our bali play
ers ended when Whalen stood by Sac
ramento, and If they want to come into
Sacramento we, will be ready for
them"
ham had been asked to indicate the at
titude of the State league upon the
question of an open warfare with it's
organized rival, If the word may be
used in this connection. 1t shows that
the outlaws are alive to the fact that.
instead of them making war upon the
Coast league, they are to be called
The fortunes of war have changed and
today 1t is a case of the Coast league
making an offensive fight and putting
the outlaws on the defensive, where
they never before have been.
War Already Declared
1t is the announced policy of the
Coast league, boldly and fearlessly ex-
pressed. to drive the outlaws off the
map. This announcements, officially
made, within itself is sufficient notice
to the outlaws that they are up against
it. All the wealth Of organized base
ball is back of the Coast league and
1t must triumph. Good sportmanship
says so. There Is no room in the cali
endar of sports these days for outlaws,
for those anarchists of sportdom who
would defy all rules and laws of base
ball government, and that spirit of fair
ness and honesty that is essential to
the success of all branches of sport
Immediately cries down all efforts at
trampling upon the established pro-
tective rules Of the sporting govern
ment.
The outlaws will lose in this fight,
as they deserve to do. They furnish
the baseball hungry fans with just
enough good sport to whet their ap-
petities-neither enough nor too much.
The Coast league will put a club In
Sacramento, despite the war fund OF
the outlaws, and will make 1t go. The
league will furnish Sacramento fans
with real baseball, with real players
and with a more organized effort at
giving good sport in return for the
shekels at the gate. There will be
something to enthuse about and the
Sacramento fans cannot afford, nor will
they, try to pass up the opportunity to
see real league baseball, instead of the
outlaw article they now are getting
War is hell, of course. Gen. Sher-
man said so, and he knew about what
he was talking. 1t will not be half so
hellish to the Coast league magnates
as it will appear to the opposition, be-
cause the former are well heeled with
the other fellows money and the cost
of war will not fall as heavily nor as
individually as 1t will in the outlaw
ranks. The after effects will justify
the means and the expenditure. And it
seems, without becoming too optimistic
the prospect, that the days
of outlaw baseball on the coast are
exceedingly small,