The Washington herald., 1911-12-27
WILL CONFER THIS
WEEK ON BASEBALL
Presidents of Major Leagues
to discuss Playing Dates.
MEETING PLACE A SECRET
Public VIII Re Informed of the Re-
suit When Schedules Are Drawn
Barney Dreyfuss Recalls the Old
Days of Strife and Warfare.

New York, Dec. 26-Somewhere in the
West an important baseball meeting will
be held this week the result of which
will not he known until next February.
Only the members of the joint schedule
committees of the National'and American
leagues will be in attendance, and the
joint committee members are not even
telling where its conference will be held.
President Ban johnson. of the American
League. and President Thomas Lynch. of
the National. both members of the COM
mittee, are busy preparing for the annual
meeting of the national commission at
Cincinnati next week and desire that the
work on the 1912 schedules go on without
interruption. That is why they have plan
ned to go into seclusfOn for day or two.
In schedule making the progress Of the
game is more marked than in any other
department. 1t has not been many years
since programme making was a free-fOr-
all scramble. Through the gradual de-
velOpment Of a better understanding
between the two major leagues and the
adoption of ruls to guide the committee,
schedules are now prepared in a busi-
nesslike and sportsmanlike manner, in
which the interests of all clubs are pro-
tected.
Dreyfuss Recalls Old Days.
President Barney Dreyfuss, of the Pitts
burg club. no doubt recalls the old days
m the National League when the sched-
ules were made by the ruling factions
which kept all of the plums and gave
only crumbs to the minority. 1t was in
those days that the Louisville delegates
left for home as soon as the schedule
was reported one spring and were not out
of New York until the league voted to
reconsider and gracefully cut out all OF
the Louisville clubs Sunday dates.
Dreyfuss was as good a fighter then as
he is now, and he soon forced the league
to make some concessions
After the American League was organ
lied and peace with the National League
was declared, the peace agreement pro-
vided for the appointment of a commit
tee of three by the National League and
three by the American League to meet in
joint session for the purpose of making
two programmes with as few conflicting
dates as possible.
There was A great deal Of friction at
first. Each league was suspicious of the
other and the meetings of the joint sChed-
ule committee were lively affairs.
Conditions haye improved steadily and
last year a new order was inaugurated.
both leagues agreeing upon certain fixed
rules to govern the making of the 1911
and future schedules. The American
League gave President johnson author
ity to handle the matter for that organ
izatiOn, so he appointed himself and his
able secretary. Robert B. MCROy.
The National League was represented
by President T. J. Lynch. Secretary John
A. Heydler. and Barney Dreyfuss. preSi-
dent of the Pittsburg club. The 1911 COM
mittee not only pleased the American and
the National Leagues and their follow
ers but also demonstrated that while
schedule making is A difficult and tedious
task. it can he accomplished without
blOOdshed or even abusive controversies