The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1913-04-21

boS TON, Mass. sunday. April eol
BASEBALL Is passing through a per,od
oi transition. Everything does Tbl
chahPes are not IN the game itself huJ \
IN the organization. II would No. hrl
appropriate for ni" to make anv conj
ment. but. being close To the frin
line. am in "A position TO point oud
many facts that may have escape,I
others.
Few wears a." the big dinficultles
IN hasehall were always between ri,ai
""dicr such as. tie National and
american leagues in the old war david
me hGht was for supremacy and life
nut sine" then il has been discovers n
there t. plenty of room for two Lid
~tarueS. and now the battle anne, ~
10 he between the players and the o--|
Iahlzation. The case Of Cobb hal
emonstractd this fact. The unusu,y|
number Of holdouts last winter con
hrmed IT, Baseball has become III
highly organized and developed ins,f-
tuition. and the old dispute OF labori
and capital is coming into evidence ind
IL
| am not going 10 undertake to nd i
Just the differences between Cobb aad|
the Detroit club. The real facts of thel
case and the merits of the contentloa|
are not accurately known by me. bud
the incident has bI-; hearing on basel
hall. IL Is not question Of salaryl
because at present there Is variancs|
~ only few hundred dollars between|
Cobb and Mr.. Navin. The outcomd
VIII establish baseball precedent.
HAr,S.
Now ! do not want my readers I'd
think I am taking this game too seri
ously. But statement made TO theI
class in history while I was in college,
many years ago returns To my mind
Every second or third generations
said the accelator of knowledge. slidl
ing his spectacles lack on his fore
head. there comes a change i'm 40
governments. \ rash II unrest strfl<esI
into the bones Of the people. and theu
demand an alteration. So much has
been read Of ctrifc they want a fe n
thrills 10 themselves and are eager ~
know what war is like. The nextj
revolution in This country will be bel
tween capital and labor"
This in more superficial way. ap1
plies To baseball. In the old daysI
OF the baseball wars. the players wereI
merely the pawns with which theI
owning pennant winning ball club
much money TO leap from league toI
league and back again. and manyI
players spent their spare hours leap-|
Ing. \ man could go To bed at night
owning pennant winning ball club
and awaken in the morning with nothl
irG left but hope and prayer. esl
ffr ffuIIF fF hn gfprfs nufn Th..u..
Ing ball players used to like TO travel
on sleepers.
Jimmy" Shackard was the prizeI
bullfroC of them all. He could leapI
faster and oftener than any OF theI
rest. The magnates were charyI
about paying off their men I'm full
because pay day always made a niceI
spring board. No player was goingI
10 Jump a club with bundle of|
money owed To- him And ont OF thfsI
war between the leagues the starsI
received many thrills and sincerely
believed competition to be the life of|
trade
open and srut Organization.
Now. however. baseball Is an openi
and-~hu organization n playerI
does not want 10 appear with a cerl
tain club he must stay out OF theI
game THIS situation has existed forI
several years hut "Ty" Cobb had
proved to De- the disturbing factor fnl
~. Last summer in New York. whenI
hf stepped into tho grand stand andI
nuuchcd &C. spectator. he delivered ii
blow which was to rock baseball TtI
wae fho direct result of this that the1
Detroit PLAYERS went on the first base
Cconenued On Page sevsn)