The Washington times., 1912-03-14
THE BASEBALL TRUST"

1t would be hard to find more effective way to
get popular discussion of the trust issue than the
Gallagher resolution for an investigation Of the
baseball trust" People who would only be bored
at suggestion of ripping up the railroads by process
of law, who would yawn at the notion of aboishngI
kerosene in order to put the Standard Oil out OF
business and who would refuse to take the slightest
interest in anything the Supreme Court or the law
makers might say about trusts in general are by the
cars the instant there is proposal to proceed against
the baseball combination. So it's fine chance for
popularizng some practical economics in a realm
that can be understood.
Baseball is great industry. Millions upon
millions invested in it, thousands Of people live
by it, while hundreds of thousands gather at the
games every day throughout half the year
Combination entered the baseball business just
as it entered tobacco oil, and biscuits. The same
tendency of the times toward unihcation, standard
izaton and centralized CONTROL brought the present
conditions to the baseball industry. There is as
much baseball trust there is print paper trust
shoe machinery trust, electrical supply trust
The baseball trust imposes some hard conditions on
minor leagues, the small competitors" So does the
oil trust on its small competitors. The baseball trust
restricts competition; every franchise holder has
tain territorial ghts guaranteed to him, exactly
the subsidiaries of certain trusts divide territory
Baseball players are required to sign contracts OF
the most drastic Sort under which they surrender
all control their destinies players; they
must play where they are sent, and if they refuse
they are barred from the business.
Pretty bad, all that. But what its effects ?
Walter Johnson Kansas farm boy, gets $500 a
year for playing maybe forty games in season. Ty
Cobb is national hero and gets 600 per; both of
which considerations probably take some of the
cuss" off the sensation of being slave to the trust
There are hundreds of players who are getting half
dozen times much money they could possibly
earn if there were not baseball trust.
On the other side, the public gets honest baseball
nobody ever questions the squareness of the sport.
Its business and its sporting sides conflict The
public likes the product that the trust for
the game is more popular than it ever was before.
Without question, the stability and character given to
the game by of the close organization and the
Capitalization of responsibility in magnaes at the
head, has strengthened the games grip on the public
To destroy the baseball trust would probably
mean decentralization of the industry and of the
game. 1t would probably mean lower salaries for
players poorer sport for the public.
Still, the baseball trust is probably a conspiracy
in restraint of trade, and good argument can be
made in behalf of the downtrodden player that must
90 where he is sent and take what is offered to him
or quit the business 1t becomes mighty practical
question. The trust may be bad but would condi-
tions be better without it?
To bust the baseball trust might, probably would
work about as we'll for the public interest as busting
the tobacco and the oil trusts has done.