The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1913-10-31
STRIFE IN BASEBALL
CIRCLES IMMINENT
Federal League and Players
Fraternity Worry MOguls
of Sport.
NEW UNION is STRONG
Eighty Per Cent of Ball Toss
ers Hold Membership in
Fraternity.
NEW UNION is STRONG
BY cHALMER MUTcHNER.

1t begins to look as though the base
ball public will be treated to some big
"doings" before the blowing of the
whistles announces the birth of the
year 1914, the said "doings" to be
supplied by the Baseball Players Fra
ternity, the Federal league and the
winter meeting of the National league.
At the present time the Baseball
Players Fraternity looks like the head
liner on the bill of entertainment. The
so-called ball tossers' union, with a
membership embracing about so per
cent of the major league players, will
submit twenty demands to the club
owners. The most important of the de-
mands calls for he abolition of the
reserve clause in all contracts.
On top of the players demands
comes the threat of the Federal lea
que to raid the two major orgauiZa-
tons and carry off bunch of the
greatest stars in baseball. The life of
a major league mogul nowadays GER
tainly is just one durn teaser after an
other. This threat of the Feds" may
be a flivyer, and then again it may
not.
The Federal league was organized
last spring with a circuit of six cities
Chicago, st. Louis, Indianapolis, Gle
veland, Pittsburg and Covington, the
franchise of the last-named being
transferred later to Kansas City. 1t
can be seen that the league was up
against pretty strong competition. But
Notwithstanding the opposition they
encountered from the American and
National leagues and the American
association, the Feds" managed to
weather the storm and play out their
schedule.
FederaIs Are Outlaws.
That not a bad record for a league
without the protection of organized
baseball. But still the Federal league,
under present conditions, remains a
bush outfit. The only hope of becom-
ing real performer in the big show
lies in a successful invasion of the
Eastern territory and the landing of a
squad of major league stars. This is
the easiest thing in the WOrld-on pa
per.
The next meeting of the National
moguls promises to be as lively as any
of it's predecessors. The word has
gone forth that an effort will be made
to GUST President Lynch. Garry Her
mann is out to elect Robert w. Brown,
of Louisville, president of the league,
and it is said that the Cincinnati mag
nate has obtained pledges of support
from Ebbets of Brooklyn, Dreyfuss of
Pittsburgh, and Britton of ST. Louis.
The dissatisfaction with the Lynch
regime is said to be due chiefly to the
work of the umpires during the past
season. Not that the umpires were in
competent. On the contrary the lea
CUES staff of arbiters in 1913 was the
best the organization has had in years.
But at intervals during the season one
club owner or another would let out
a yell that the Giants were getting the
| best end of all the close decisions.
Strange to say, the kickers didn't
blame the men who rendered the de
cisions, but went after Lynch, who as
president of the league is also super
visor of umpires. Some of the clut
owners may have imagined that thei'
teams were getting the worst of ii
from the umpires. Then again, these
accusations of biased judgment may
be considered the right recipe to make
President Thomas F. Lynch just plair
Tom Lynch, private citizen.