Omaha daily bee., 1910-02-17
AMERICAN LEAGUE CONTRACT
Agreement Among the Eight Clubs is
Renewed for Twenty Years.
JOHNSON AGAIN PRESIDENT
He IL Reelected for Term of Con-
tract and His salary Advanced
to Twenty-Five Thousand
Dollars = Year.

CHICAGO, Feb. 16.-Byron Bancroft
Johnson was reelected president. secre-
tary and treasurer of the American league
at a salary said to be 5000 a year at
the closing session of the annual sched-
ule meeting today.
The agreement under which the league
has existed since November, 1900, was re-
newed for a period of twenty years. In
the new agreement is a clause forbidding
any club owner or holder of stock in any
club to hold shares in any other club in
the league except as an emergency meas
ure."
All the other articles of the agreement
were retained in the new one.
Uniform tickets with rain check cou-
pons, practically the same as now in use
in the National league, were adopted.
A schedule Of 1854 games, opening on
April IA and closing on October 8, was
unanimously adopted. This schedule was
the only one submitted to the meeting and
was chosen without change. 1t was an
nounced that the dates selected YOU be
retained whether the National league
plays 164 or 16S games. If the National
LEAGUE selects the shorter season there
will only be ten conflicting dates between
the two leagues. Eight of these will be
in Chicago and the two others in st.
Louis.
JohnsOn's salary Increased.
While no official announcement was
made tina Mr.. Johnson's salary had been
increased from sic, 900 to $4,000 it was
said on good authority that such was the
case. Mr.. Johnson refused to talk of the
reported salary increase, but smilingly
said that IT was a personal matter. He
also returned the same answer as to the
as to how old he would be when
his term Of office will expire, This is the
longest tenure in office to which any
base ball president was ever elected.
It was made co-existent with the Ma
tional agreement. 1t is said that Charles
A. Comiskey Of Chicago and Benjamin S.
Shive of Philadelphia were the men behind
this signal tribute to Mr.. Johnson as a
league leader. The adoption of a twenty
year agreement was said to be in the nature
of a compromise. Some of the club owners
favored the renewal for ten years, while
others spoke for a perpetual agreement,
such as now exists in the National league.
This was the main subject Of debate in
yesterdays meeting and the voting on it
was postponed until today.
Syndicate Ball Prohibited.
The article added to the agreement for
bidding syndicate base ball" reads as fol-
lows:
Syndicate base ball is prohibited except
as an emergency measure and then only
with the consent of the leagues president
and directors shall a stockholder In one
club own or control stock In another club
In the American league, under penalty of
being voted and dealt with as an undeslr-
able associate and barred from all con-
with the league.
The expected big trade In which the st.
Louis club was to be a party had not de-
veloped up to a late hour. Several con-
ferences were held by the various man
ayers, but nothing of Importance developed.
The Saginaw club of the Southern Michi-
gan league. secured two American recruits.
1t purchased Second Baseman Weaver
from Cleveland and Pitcher Arnold from
Philadelphia. The same club also bought
Pitcher Burgess from the Sprinfield CMo.)
club. The majority of the club owners and
managers left for their homes tonight.
Robert L.. Hedges, president of the st.
Louis Americans. denied that he had any
of trading Outfielder George Stone
and Shortstop Bobby Wallace to Cleveland
for Catcher Clarke and First Baseman
Stovall.
The following telegram was received by
Mr.. B. B.. Johnson from August Hermann,
chairman of the National commission, to-
day:
All articles having been offered as coming
Have made no statement excepting that the
case will be taken up soon.