Los Angeles herald., 1909-05-29
LEAGUE LEADER
REFUSES ACTION
CAL EWING PUTS PREMIUM ON
R0WDY BASEBALL
sMtTH-WILLET FIGHT is PASSED
UP BY OFFICIAL
TELEGRAM and Letter from Presiding
officer of Coast Organization Are
reconcilable-Chief with
Backbone Needed
BY A. E. DUNNING

BY A. E. DUNNING
81 have had no request from the Los
Angeles club for investigation of the
trouble between Smith and Willet. UNI
! pire McGreevy, who was present, mas
| told me that he could not find out now
! the fight started or who was the ag-
eressor. Under the circumstances he
| fined each of them and ordered them
| out of the grounds. Unless Los An
| geles requests further investigation
| there is nothing that can be done py
the president, D. CAL EW ,. 1INH, .,
president Pacific Coast league.
| The foregoing telegram, received here
last night from the high mogul OF the
Goa STEERS. is a most curious document,
and in the light OF the real facts con-
corning the Smith Willet affair is
worthy of filing away as Naiudple
example of the methods pursued IN the
conduct of coast organized psis s'..'i -,
! President Ewing is a trihe Inaccurate
i'm his statements; it was Umpire NC
Carthy and not McGreevy VINO hneu
and threw the players out of the game
"a minor matter TO be sure, but OF IN
terest as to how fully the investigation
was conducted a.
II is seemingly hardly necessary TO
mention fine fact that this message
nuts an end to the hope that a stlH
punishment would be melted out TO the
rowdv players who mixed up on the
third base line in a game OF the laSI
series between Portland and Los An
geles at Chutes park. Umpire Jdch
! Mccarthy submitted a report TO the
league chief on the matter, detailing
tbe fact that Smith and Willet engaged
in a fight during a Coast league game,
and that he fined each man so, ana
ordered Smith, who was playing third
for Los Angeles, and Willet, the PORT
land pitcher. who stood on the third
base coaching line. onto their respec-
tive benches.
WhteWashed by Ewing
Ewing for the second time in the
voung season has seen fit to plaster
the kindly whitewash over the sins
of disorderly players and has refused
point blank to take any action look
ing to the support of clean pail III
the Coast league. For the SECOND time
since the opening of the most auspi-
cious season the coasters have ever en-
loved Just at the moment when a
maintenance of firm discipline among
the PLAYERS would be the biggest boost
western organized ball could receive,
| the leader of the league has laid down
fatty and allowd the Portlanders to
get away with another bit OF raw work.
| There is no intention to clear Jud
Smith of blame in the matter. The
official report stated that the men
| had been fined and thrown out of the
! game for fighting. No matter who was
! the aggressor, that such an incident
| took place is sufficien to bring pun
ishment on the men involved. 1t Is
not new nor particularly brilliant
saying that 1t "talIes two to make
quarrel" but it is an eternal truth,
and this is just the point which Cal
Ewing has overlooked in washing his
hands of the matter.
That these two players have been
allowed to indulge in a fist fight pay
a So fine and go back into the game
the next day, thereafter never receiv-
! ing punishment for such a fragrant
violation of the ground rules of the
| league constituted, as did the previous
incident in which Spiker Olson figured
direct encouragement of such tactics.
IrreconclIabIe Statements
The following letter received yester-
day by Henry Berry cannot in any
| light be found to reconcile itself with
the telegram received at this office:
"W. H. Berry, president Angel City
Baseball association, Dear Sir-I did
not feel at the commencement of the
| season that the umpires would be
called upon to report the use of vul-
gar or profane language by any of the
players during this season, as we were
| practically free from the use of same
| last year, and l am now very sorry
| to have to call the attention of the
different club presidents, managers and
players to the violation of this rule"
| 81 am today instructing the umpires
to impose a fine of $25 and put the
player out of the game for this offense.
and to wire me at once all such cases.
! when a player has been punished
| for this offense twice by the umpire l
will suspend him for not less than five
playing days, and if the case warrants
it will suspend for a longer period.
u. CAL EWING"
The Old, Old Story
1t is the old story of the -by-night
horse and the open door. After the
| disgraceful incidents have happened
and those travelling fans who happen
in at this exhibition go away with a
queer idea of the discipline in force
on the coast diamonds-not to speak
of the effect of such actions on local
/ fans-ths Weakened official threatens
punishment if it happens again, but in
| doing so is careful to see that all the
burden is placed on the umpires. The
umpire IS the executive, not the ju-
dicial officer of the league. 1t is the
duty of the league president to pass
upon the actions of the umpire in fin
ing and suspending these men. Ewing
has N"passed the buck" and disclaimed
all responsibility of mourning the
emnity of the players.
In his statement, Ewing declared
that no protest had been received
4 from the Los Angeles club regarding
the matter. That an Endorsement of
the umpire's ruling is needed is not to
be thought in organized ball, and no
protest was necessary to bring the
matter to Ewing's attention. The fin
ing and dismissal from the game of the
players placed the matter in Ewing's
hands.
But further comment is unnecessary.
Ewing has, ah has been before stated,
placed a premium on rowdyism in the
coasters by such dilatory and weak
kneed rulings. If the fans are to see
clean, fast, snappy ball, devoid of the
wranglings and disputes that are so
fatal to this character Of play, a leader
of backbone is needed.
IRISH MARATHoNER IMPROVES
NEW YORK, May 2S.-Pat White,
the Irish champion long distance run
ner, yesterday ran the Marathon dis