Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1914-06-03
ORGANIZED B. B.
 AND THE OUTLAWS
Old Leagues Suffered Feds to Organize-Rusie Was
 Poorly Paid.
(Bv Frank G. MeHke.)

New York, June 2.-Organized baseball comes to the fore today with new story of how it could have crushed the Federal League even before it's started, "but because we didn't want to use seemingly un- fair tactics we didn't do it'
 It seems from this new story-that is from the way Organized Baseball tells it-that it had a chance in Chi cago, just at the time the Chicago Feds were negotiationg for the land, to buy wide strip straight through the center of the plot that now forms the Feds park there.
 But soft-hearted Organized Base ball crod didn't care to do such a thing. They felt so kindly and chari- table toward the Feds that they let them by the whole lot.
 In Buffalo, St. Louis and again in Chicago, the Organized crowd had a chance to put the crusher on the Feds but because of brotherly and tender feeling towards the Feds, it passed the chance up. From what we are told by one of the big officials of Organized Baseball, some of the prop erty owners in the neighborhood of the Federal parks objected to the presence of the parks.
 "And right there" explains thiS of ficial, i've could have killed off the Feds, had ge cared to. We could have. at total cost of $50,00o got these property owners together and filed injunction suit to prevent further work on the parks. Without dn,,ht tha ipi,uotinu uynu1d bayo boao gra1ted-and where would the Feds have been?
 Aren't the real facts in these par ticular cases bit different than you eXplain?" We asked. "Isn't it the real truth that the reason Organized Base ball didn't buy that strip of land and push injunction suits was because it was blind to it's opportunity, and not because it saw it and passed it by in tentionally?" 4ss..
 "Oh, no,' was the answer.
 And there you are.
 Salaries-Past and Present.
 Comparing the baseball salaries of
 of 'the present day with those of the ralst is just like comparing a poney .b b!ak aktelephsnt-ther just that much 4iiffer6nce lin the general bulk of thc.pay envelopes.
 Amos Rusie, regarded by many of the veteran fans who have seen the best of the past and present perform CTS, as just about the greatest pitch CT of all time, got only paltry $3,2O0 a year in comparison with Walter Johnson's 3,5O0. Mathewso!a's $15,- 900 Joe Woods $10OOO and Nap Fuckers $10,0OO. The amount that Amos used to draw down for his bril- liant work is an amount that even the tWirlers fresh from the bushes wouHAl lsneeze at in these days.
 George Van Natter had few peers as Ia base runner, few as a fielder and thrower, few as brainy player, and usually could be cou!ated on for a goodly number of safe swats each season. In the old days George was figured to be of as much value to | his team as Iris Speaker is today, 1 yet George grabbed off only $2,1OOI year, while Iris takes unto him. self about s1S,5O0.
 Herman Long takes rank as the very best shortstop the game ever has known. Yet Herman got only about $2,400 for his labors-a sum that is less than half that paid anyi of the major legue clss shortstops of | the present day. '
 If Big Dan" Brouthers were in his prime today he could command-and get-at least $10,000 year. But Dan played in the old days of poor pay and was perfectly satisfied with the $1,90O salry tht. he drew.
 Buck" Ewing got only $2,40O a year-and he was worth $1OOOO at least,. according to present day stand ards. Tim Keefe had few equals as pitcher, yet he only got $2,4OO. And John Ward. who thought nothing of pitchig ab:aout 60 games a season, and played in the outfield the rest of the time, got only $4,00O.