The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-03-29
Baseball and Our
Equity Courts

Is professional baseball now under
the jurisdiction of our equity courts,
or must we have special laws for the
regulation of baseball, asks the Sioux
City Journal. Continuing that paper
says:
The query may sound like a joke to
those who think of baseball merely as
a sport. 1t is not joke, because
baseball is not merely sport. Pro-
fessional baseball is business. Incl
dentally, it is now one of the most
profitable businesses carried on in our
large cities and towns. Proprietors of
major or minor league teams have
millions of dollars invested in real es
tate and plants" Every year the So
called magnates make contracts with
players running into millions of dol
lars. AS in all other business, dis
putes involving property and contract
rights are likely to arise in baseball
circles, Can these disputes be handled
by private arbitration? The question
has long interested magnates and play
ers. Since the Three-I-league war has
been in progress it has been interest
ing lawyers. If it is not settled right
the lawmakers may begin to prick up
their ears.
So far. organized ball has been con-
/ Quoted as private institution There
are leagues and associations of
leagues The league makes and en-
forces the law for its constituent clubs
and the association of leagues makes
and enforces the law for constituent
leagues. Near the top of the associa-
ton is an arbitration tribunal that is
a sort of court of appeal on questions
of baseball law, and still higher up is
1 national commission, described as
''the supreme court of baseball The
/ last word of the national commission
4 is the last word in baseball law Or
eanized baseball has been built on
/ the principle that these baseball
courts shall be allowed to settle all
disputes arising between club owners
I or between players and club owners.
+ The plan has worked pretty well on
the whole, with little disposition on
the part of Interested parties to evade
its discipline The Three-T league dis
pute has, however. proved a conspic-
4 uous exception to the rule
The Three-I is an eieht-club league,
originally covering the states OF Indi-
4 ana, illinois and Iowa, but now con.
4 fined to Illinois and Iowa, Waterloo
and Davenport being the towns west
of the Mississippi river After the
close af last season the executive off
GERS of the league decided to GUST
Waterloo, and admit Quincy, III, in
/. its place. the admitted object being
to make the league more compact and
save railroad fare Waterloo objected
TO being ousted, and its objections
We're sustained by the three other
northern clubs. 1t was apparent thai
: Waterloo could not be ousted by q
majority vote Of the league members
The executive officers of the league
ruled, however that Waterloo coult
not vote on the question, which woult
: leave the league divided four to three
against Waterloo A meeting of thu
league was called to GUST Waterloo
the program apparently was to e.
through. All league members hat
subscribed to an agreement that II an,
OF them should try to obtain redress
in the civil courts his membership il
the league must lapse under baseball
law. Waterloo held that this agree