El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-08-30

vEW YORK, Aug. 3O.-Organized
N baseball seems to be on the
L verge Of losing its last vestige
Of sport for sports sake The com
mercial end of the enterprise over
shadows all else. The magnates are
out for the money and make no bones
of the fact The lust for gold Is as
deeply rooted in the minor leagues as
in the major organizations.
Depend Upon Patronage.
The two big circuits depend upon
patronage for financial gains Dc
cause of this it is necessary LOT them
TO secure the very best talent 70 ulS-
NAV before the public ThousahuS
upon thousands of dollars are eX-
pended every season by each club IN
the National and American leagues IoI
the sole purpose of terrifying Tor the
future Every club owner has several
highly paid scouts beating al ar09hu
the country in search of likely IOoAlhS
bush timber Some have as many as
six scouts under salary. Besiues
these there is an army of amateur
sharps who do business on a coInlnls-
sion basis. This policy OF near eA-
travagance is all well enough for 1lrst
division aggregations; the end more
| than justifies the means But II IS
serious drain upon the pocketDook OF
the unfortunate holders of second d.
vision franchises
Hard Row in Second Division.
Because of their weaknesses, second
division clubs in the major leagues
call for the greatest expenditures rms
makes their lot all the more severe
The money is put up on a pure gamble,
because a club away down IN the race
is lucky to make interest on invest
ment. The leading teams which
might well afford to speculate in talent
have the same crying need to do So
But those leaders usually string along
in a sort of dog in the manger" fash
ion and often corral most promising
talent which they cannot possibly use,
Just to keep it away from some IoWIy
rival that might utilize it to the dis
! advantage of the strong.
The Hold OF COnmercialism-
The hold of commercialism on the
I national pastime has been fOrcibly IL
/ Illustrated time and time again but never
more strongly than in the American
league this present campaign FRANK
/ Chance could not get any assistance
| from his colleagues, many of whom
! had bench warmers who would have
/ been of the greatest assistance to
| New York. It took him a couple OF
months to secure shortstop Peckin-
paugh from Cleveland. Birmingham
( had no use for this player. He wished
/ to turn him back to Toledo, the farm
| of the Maps. When Chances Outfield
/ was performing in a most pitiful man
| ner, Connie Mack was carrying six
| gardeners, any of them superior to
the best the Peerless Leader could
| show.
Minors Drive Bargains.
J There was a time when the major
! leagues, by juggling the market,
/ could maintain a self supporting re-
! cruiting institution Undesirable tai
/ ent snatched from the brush" could
/ often be turned back at a profit But
/ that time is past The minOrs-for-
| mer prey-have become the close
/ listed bargain drivers. IF you de-
/ sire our good men you must pay dear
4 " enough for the castOffs." The
! minor league depend to a very great
! extent upon the sale Of players for
/ self maintenance and can not be
! blamed for getting back at the big
! fellows on every possible occasion.
/ Major league magnates, who display
! cold Indifference among themselves
/ deserve no pity when minor league
? promoters put on the screws.
Majors Responsible.
The major leagues themselves are
/ responsible for most of the present day
} commerciaIsm of the game. Always
I has their attitude been the most ex-
! acting and the most grasping. As this
J sport has gradually become more and
J more Of a show business, the methods
I of show have attached themselves
/ The power of publicity has appealed
( to the club owners, who now take
| every means of boosting their owl
| game through press agent stuff