The Alaska citizen., 1912-11-04
BASEBALL PLAYERS FRATsRITY

graph regarding the move made by the Baseball Players Fraternity in petitioning the National com mission To give the umpires the power to eject from the field those fans whose language and actions are disgusting. and whose rowdyism Is a discredit to the greatest game Of them all For the benefit of those who are unable to keep in close touch with the doing of the players on the Outside it might be well to explain just what the Base ball Players Fraternity IS and how il came to he formed
 David l.. Fultz, the eminent attor- ney formerly Brown university base ball and football star. and subse quently brilliant and speedy outfield- CT of the New York Americans un- til he developed dinky legs is the man who seems to be the handspring of the newly formed organization. Anyway he draws a salary as it's active head
 The organization is made up en- tirely of players in professional base ball, and it's sole aim and purpose is to aid them in getting their just de serts. and to take up their cases. when, in the eyes of the organi2a tion. they have any against the team on which they played The first move of the fraternity was to issue a long statement regarding the eriey- ences of ball players, and the req sons they thought sufficient to bind them together. The statement is plain, logical and free from the usual ranting outbursts of new movements for the betterment of working condi- tions. It makes no eXtravagant de mands or harsh accusations. and is in every way worthy of respect
 WHAT IT DOES NOT SAY.
 That speaks we'll for the future O. the Fraternity and it is to he felici- tated upon it's good sense in select ing a thinking person as its repre- sentative instead of one of the usual run of loud-mouthed. notoriety seek ing, fake refOrmers who beef about their ability to turn the world upside down in ten minutes if their vie tims will only pay dues regularly and follow them like flock of sheep. l. may be perfectly true that Mir Ful2 has a keen interest in the salary he expects to get. and to that extent may not be entirely philanthropical in his efforts in behalf of the sup posed sufferers. but somebody has to lead the enterprise and, so far. he has proved by his conservatism that he is a wise choice.
 It might have been supposed that the first crack out of the box the players would have put up the howl of the two by four critics of base ball about white slavery" involved in the reserve rule, and it was abso- lutely refreshing to read MT. Fultz's remarks in which he said that the players admitted that theirs was q peculiar business and necessarily sub ject to conditions not existing in any other line.
 All of which was to say that the absolute need for the reserve rule was recognized. and there was to be no campaign of bluhbering gulf about the brutality" in selling" and buy ing performers in this land of the That piffle. written by ping-pong and lingerie experts when they have noth- ing else with which to fill space, has become so tiresome that even the most boneheaded of ball playrs stand for it no longer. Mr Futz candidly remarked that while the members of the Fraternity were naturally after as much as they could get, they were by no means anxious to so weaken the sport or antagonize the magnates that they would kill the goose that lays the golden egg.
 IT MAY BE THE LEVER.
 The indefiniteness of the purposes of the Fraternity is entirely natural. That the National commission is not perfect Is taken for granted. for the commission is composed of human beings. How to help it do even better than 1t has done is the big query, and one that is going to re main for many day. long after the present stars of the game are on the shelf. The apparent injustices to which many players have had to submit are we'll known to all con- cerned. but when the thinking men in the sport are pinned down with a request to outline of more equita ble general laws, they become as hay as MT. Fultz. Every baseball writ CT who has given the legal end of the game any thought has probably sounded intelligent subjects of the present rules upon their theories of what notifications should be made, has probably never been able to get