Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-03-25
FEDS MAY ENTER
ORGANIZED BALL
New York Sport Scribes Sees
Approach of Peace Dove
and Predicts Joy.
TWO TWELVE CLUB LEAGUES
gloh Salaries Cause Financial Diff
euIties-sore Major League Clubs
Face Crisis This Year.

New York. March 25.-In the not
100 dim and distant future-unless
the present dope is wrong organized
baseball will clutch the heckling Fed
eraI league TO its bosom and peace
will reign again the land. And. unless
me signs point wrongly. the consoli-
dation will result in the formation Of
Two i club leagues, the American
league absorbing four OF the Federal
league clubs and the National league
lacking onto its circuit the other four
Fed clubs.
Looking az Il from any angle you
wish. IL seems that the ending of
var. no matter what the compromise
will cost everyone involved, will be
for the best interests of the mag
mates. And because the Federal
league will insist that its clubs retain
a major league status and because
the organized baseball persons now
maintain there is not room for three
major league organizations, the diff
hculty will be overcome by forming
two IL club leagues.
High Salaries Cause.
A disastrous financial season faces
most OF the organized major league
club this season. and it is possible
that The dry spell. as far as income is
concerned. will continue for two or
three seasons. All this is the result
OF the activity of the Federals. The
Feds. in their fight for players, forced
the organized clubs to boost salaries
70 the highest notch in history-to a
point where it seemed almost ruinous.
But the organized people, facing the
alternative OF having their clubs
wrecked by the invading Feds. or of
making their pay rolls topheavy in
the extreme, chose the latter and
wisest course.
The existence OF the Feds this year
in some OF the cities that had to go
the limit, to hold their players will
cause splitting OF patronage. and. |
OF course, will reduce the income OF
the organized clubs affected. Other |
organized clubs whose cities were not |
invaded by the Feds with a franchise |
will feel the effect through the fact |
that the Feds grabbed of some of
their stars. The Philadelphia Ma |
tionals are one sample. The Feds /
shared Knabe. Doolen, Seaton, Bren- |
nan and also lay claim to Killifer. No |
club can lose five OF fits best players |
and not feel the effect
Il seems that II the present Fed
eral franchises in Chicago, St Louis /
and Kansas City were revoked and /
franchises given to Cincinnati, De-
troit and Washington instead, and |
the then eight Federal league clubs I
split IN half, four going to the Ameri-
cans AID the other four TO the Ma
tionals. II would make a nice, COM
pact circuit IN both leagues. Kan
sss City seems a bit too far west and
too small a city for membership in a
major league circuit St Louis and
Chicago seem hardly large enough to
support three major league clubs.
Here Are the Clubs
Here are the two IL club leagues:
National league
New York (Giants)
Philadelphia (Phillies)
St Louis (Cardinals)
Chicago CCubs)
Boston CBraves)
Cincinnati CReds)
Pittsburgh (Pirates)
Brooklyn (Dodgers)
Buffalo (Feds)
Washington CFeds)
Detroit (Feds)
Indianapolis CFeds)
American league
New York CYankees)
Philadelphia (Athletics)
81 Louis (Browns)
Chicago white Sox)
Boston (Red Sox)
Cincinnati (Feds)
Pittsburgh CFeds)
Brooklyn CFeds)
Cleveland (Naps)
Washington (Senators)