Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-11

the call being for the election of officers
and for all business in general. Norfolk
failed to show UP, but President Helms
of the Roanoke club had a paper purport-
ing to be the proxy of the Norfolk club
President Williams vacated the chair for
| the election. being too modest to stay in
the room during the election. When he
left Vice President Bradley of Richmond
started. Richmond. Lynchburg and Dan
vile voted for Whitaker and Petersburg
and Roanoke for Williams. On the call
of the Norfolk team, an objection was
made to the voting of the proxy. The
chair ruled this to be permissible, but Di-
rector Sands, representing Richmond. ap-
pealed from the decision and the chair
was not sustained, Lynchburg, Richmond
and Danville voting In the negative.
There being no provision in the consti-
| such circumstances. it was held that the
ma tOrity vote could decide the method to
be followed. When the majority voted
| against allowing the Norfolk proxy to be
| meeting. With the other three clubs
still there. a quorum was still present
the quorum provided for especially by
the constitution-but the directors did not
care to go further under the clrcum-
stances and after some time decided to
adjourn to meet subject to the call of MI
Whitaker. early in January, after the end
of the term for which Mr. Williams had
been elected year ago.
Although this adjournment was taken
by a constitutional quorum last week
Mr.. Williams issued call for a meeting
to do the same work that the November
meeting was called for. and, to be
expected. the Lynchburg, Danville and
Richmond clubs, in view of the fact that
a quorum had voted to adjourn the meet
ing until January. ignored the call,
There cannot he the slightest doubt
about the November meeting having the
right to adjourn that session. and this
was done by 81. full vote in meeting at
which there was quorum present.
Then. If this be the case, Mr.. Williams
had no right to call meeting in the
interim. The legality Of this statement
is patent on it's face
This. then, brings the whole matter
back to the starting point, and the whole
controversy hinges in the right of the
meeting to vote the Norfolk proxy. If
the proxy was properly ruled out no
court would hold that Whitaker was not
duly elected president for the term be-
ginning January !. If, on the other
hand. the Norfolk proxy was improperly
ruled out, then there a tie vote and
Williams holds his office until his sue
cessor be elected. In either event the
meeting in Petersburg Monday could not
be held to be legal, for the November
,
and certainly called session could not
be held in the meantime unless it was
| done by consent.
The threat of the Williams faction to
commission next week brings no terror to
the Whitaker following. for these people
have already anticipated this action, and
If 1t is held that the commission has juris-
d1ctlon in the premises the fight will be
| aired before that body, but if it is held
that 1t is matter for the league to dis
pose of. then the trouble will certainly
find its way into the state courts soon
after the beginning of the next year.
There is only one question to settle in
the controversy, and that is the right Of
the Norfolk team to participate in the
election at the November meeting, and
when that is settled the whole fight Will
be brought to a conclusion.
OF course. this will not dissipate the
bad feeling that has been aroused by the
fight, but 1t should not work to the dis
Indignation of the circuit.
At the meeting Monday the Williams
following appeared to put all of the blame
for the fight against Mr.. Williams on
President Bradley Of the Richmond team.
but this seems to be placed on the wrong
shoulders, for the fight against Mr.. VIII
liams was started by the local club before
| the season was three days old last spring
The association here took exception to
some Of Mr.. Williams letters. In which
1t took the ground that he was med
For instance, he sugg ested that the home
teams players bench be moved and that
bevy of fans who hung over the fence
in front Of the grandstand be prevented
from doing so. and this was resented from
the start the local directors believing
they possessed the right to handle such
matters without the interference of the
president Of the league. Then came the
trouble over the umpireS, and there was
an almost constant wrangle throughout the
| season The umpring was the worst ever
seen here. and there is scarcely a fan to
be found in Lynchburg who does not
agree with this charge.
The Lyncbburg association was after
Mr. Williams scalp long before any
I charge was made that his administration
had cost the league too much. 1t was the
Lynchburg association, when it was
| under the presidency of Mr. J. NJ. Nc
Laughlin which succeeded in putting Mr.
Williams at the head of the league, and 1t
remained for the same team under Presi-
dent Wilkinson to lead the fight against
Mr. Williams. This may be bringing a
bit Of new information to the fans around
the circuit, but it is not news to Mr.. Will
liams, for President Wilkinson has not
fought under cover. though he did not
! show his entire hand at all times.
1t has been charged that there was a
'frame-up" at the November meeting, but
| the real cause of the trouble was that
Norfolk was absent The teams opposing
Mr. Williams reelection only hoped for
tie. believing that Mr.. Williams would
| quit under such circumstances. for he was
| credited with saying severap times that he
| would not have the Office without a
| unanimous vote. Great was their surprise
| when. they went to Petersburg Il month
! ago to find Norfolk absent. Then the rest
| was easy. Attorney Sands, a director in
: the Richmond association, put his legal
| lamps to work, and the way the parlia-
| mentary tactics were slung over the
| minority was q caution. Mr.. Sands had
| foresight sufficient to see what was COM
| ing. and everything was done deliberately
and with a view to just such fight as
| has developed. Now 1t only remains to
! be seen whether anything was done with
out being in conformity to the constitu-
| ton OF the league. Quite number Of
| local attorneys who are conversant with
| the controversy express the belief taat
| there is no doubt about the legality of he
| election of Mr. Whitaker
| While Mr. Whitaker is not and has
not, been talking for publication since
the November meeting, it is believed
that he would be quite willing to retire
from the fight If compromise agree
ment could be reached. There is no use
| talking Williams to the three clubs
which had been fighting him. so the
only way to bring about a compromise
would be for Petersburg or Norfolk to
bring out a candidate for the presidency
and he would probably be agreed upon.
Mr.. Whitaker did not seek the place.
nor did he want it, but he agreed to
have his name placed in nomination
| when the Richmond. LynchburR and
Danv1lle representatives held to the be-
lief that three votes for him would be
sufficient to indnce Mr.. Williams to quit,
and when this was brought about, an