Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-12-09
Bv Percy III. Whiting.

rF Charley Franks justly exc
Grated sliding scale" salary
limit is put in force II will cost
the Crackers from four to six of
their best players. Either II would
bar off such men as Alperman and
Bailey. and making the signing OF
McAllister Smith. Kirke, Weaver
and DonnelIy an impossibility, or
else ii would make necessary the
most barefaced salary limit dodg-
ing that the Southern league has
ever seen.
Do YOU wonder Bill Smith has
passed up the American and Ma
tional league meeting and that he
win beat it to Birmingham early
to attend the Southern league SEES
sion and to fight against Charley
Franks pet scheme?
Franks sliding scale system looks
as harmless as a jellytish. 1t pro-
vides that you are entitled TO pay
salary corresponding to the mum
Der of players you have-$S,600 for
eighteen players, $4,000 for seven
teen, and so on down TO $4,000 Tor
twelve. The joker, concealed up
the sleeve of this harmless little
salsrv limit is a provision that no
team man pay over $3.50 q month
for any player.
Imagine some of the toplincrs in
the Southern league playing for
$3.50 a month--that is, imagine 1t II
YoU CAN. We can't. Imagine,
please, the yell that Otto Jor-
dan or virtually any Of the eX-big
leaguers who are in good trim
would let out if their salaries were
cut to $3.50 a month. A rush day
In a boiler factory would be placid
compared with It,.
NrOT being familiar with the pay
IN roll Of the Cracker team. we
aren't prepared to say which mem
bers of the club received over $3.50
q month last season, but it's NOR
ally certain that a good many OF
them did. Alperman and Bailey
were both men entitled to more
than s35o and both undoubtedly got
II. II is a cinoh that Alperman Is
q high priced man. In fact Omar
ley Hemphill virtually admitted ii
and was so worried over the mat
ter Of getting Whitley signed that
he went to see him ct his home in
Etna, Pa, and closed the deal with
him there. Bailey. considering
where he came from, must have
been high priced man, and the
same is true of Agler.
And look at the men Smith is
rounding up for next year Fat
chance of getting Wallace Smith,
Jay Kirke, Arlie Weaver, or Don
nelly TO sign for $3.50
Either the Frank scheme must
be beaten or else two alternatives
are presented--to get rid of these
star men and to replace them with
better ones, or to evade the salary
limit Ano to evade the limit in
such fashion that ii would appear
that these men were being secured
at $3.50 a month would be SO raw
as to offend even the often tested
gullibility of President Kavanaugh.
TT il were al all possible to enforce
this $3.50 to- player limit, whi(
of course it isn't, it might be a good
thing to put it in force GRAD
UALLY. Ii could be provided that
there would be no limit for next
season on the salary paid any play
err For 1914 the limit could be 5000
for 1915 il might be S2I5 and by
1916 the $3.50 limit could be eased
over IN this way managers could
prepa " themselves for the shock
ami could be gradually getting rid
of their high priced players.
It's childish, how ever to take any
ordinary salary limit too seriously.
OF course il limit Of $3.50 on each
PLAYER were put in effect this year
Il would work 2 hardship But in