Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-01-24
EBbETS ACCUSED
Of LATEST PLOT
AGAINST FEDS
Strenuous Efforts Were Made to
Slip St. Louis Browns to Poor
Charley Weeghman,
BY Damon Runyon.

BY Damon Runyon.
THAT was truly aidespIcable move
by organized baseball-that ef-
fort to slip the St Louis Browns
to poor Charley Weeghman, OF Fed
eral League fame-and all right
thinking people will rejoice over the
failure Of the diaboIcal plot.
The author OF the scheme Is un-
known. but 1t was not Garry Herr
mann. the SENT president or the GIN
cinnati Reds man on the INSIDE
assures us that Garry's kindly soul
revolied at the idea of such harsh
measures. and ne held out for some
time against the conspiracy. lie
wanted to give Mr. Weeghman n case
Of Cincinnati beer. or smallpox. or
something just mildly deadly, ana ne
would not even listen TO plan 10
give the Chicago man the Reds. hold
ing that such cruelty is unclNillzed.
Neither was the author the obese
Ban Johnson II was worthy of Ban
who is always thinking out mean
things to do to people, but in TINS
case Ban Was not guilty, In the trst
place Ban is paying no attention TO
the Federal Leaguers You know
that because Pan has said so, and no
one would think OF doubling Ban
word In the second place, Ban mas
been saving up the st Louis Browns
for years in the hope that he might
some day be able to infiict them upon
his deadly enemy, John Montgomery
War6.
COME people suggest that Charley
- Murphy may nave conceived the
IDEA OF handing the Browns TO
Weeghman, but this seems improb-
able. because Mr. Murphy would have
mentioned the matter to the reporters
as seen as he thought Of IT, Frank
Nayin, OF Detroit. is hardly responsi-
BILE because Mir Navin's mind is al
ways completely occupied at this time
OF year wondering whether T Ray
mond Cobb Is going To hold out or
merely ask for more money. And so,
WITH the parties named eliminated,
suspicion quite naturally rests upon
G. Hercules Ebbets, the Squire OF
F'lajbush, who is also suspected OF
robbing his manager Your Uncle
Nilbert Robinson. of all his shortstop-
pers
MOST likely It was G. Hercules.
WI ANYWAY. he can stand the blame.
He has stod the blame for the Dodg
ers tor several years, and little more
blame can add nothing much to his
load Yes. II was undoubtedly Eb-
bets And in view OF the fact that
poor Charley Weeghman is financing
n ball club in an OUTFIT that involves
jumps from Kansas CITY to Toronto
and back again-if they are right
lucky-it WIS quite reasonable for
Mr. Ebbets to assume that Mr.
Weeghman is Just such man as
might buy the 81. Louis Browns.
THIS plot 10 wean Weeghman away
from the independents is one OF I
many. Only few days ago there
was talk OF expanding the lnterna-
t.onal League into a major organi2a-
ton TO fight the invaders, a scheme
which would only he a short cut to
an end that the big leagues will at
tain lust between themselves. II let |
alone. and that is they viii baseball !
the public to death with their Ions
seasons and interleague and inter
CITY series
Neeghman seems to he the big fig
ure OF the Feds. II was WeeChmah |
Who signed Joe Tinker. and some peo-
pie are inclined to the belief that had |
Tinker not been grabbed away from
Fbhets. there would he no Federal |
League to-day-at least il would not |
have assumed the Importance thai
1t seems to hold AT this time.
The man who SO narrowly ESCAPED |
the st Louis Browns owns a string |
Of restaurants in Chicago Is great |
baseball fan and very popular In
ADDITION to that he Is worth around |
$3.50 600 Folks say more, hut that |
is his rating In those great financial
works of literature that are supposed |
10 give the very low down on what
you have. or what YOU haven't, rs
the case NAV he. Otto Stitel, the 81.
Louis brewer, who is mixed up with
the Mound City Feds, Is also supposed
10 DC millionaire, but the gents who
publish the editions aforesaid do not
suppose it-not by quite a large sum
~ money
n STIFEL is set down as having a
~. paltry half-million pooh pooh
10 him. and is probably wondering
where he is going to great breakfast
money. Think OF a man having no
more than half a million dollars, or,
think of him having II, If You prefer
II thinks out most incredible either
way
Aryhow, Weeshman is the heavy
rumble among the Feds. and when he
started out OF the door last Satur-
dav il seems that the prospect Of the
new league attended him We repeat
II one man makes or breaks the Feds
.hev haven't got far TO go
We are anxious TO see that list OF
big league ball players they are talk
ing about, and We want to see how
they bear up under that Kansas city
Toronto hon a couple Of times before
offering any more prophecies. II will
take more than half dozen. or even
\ dozen. big leaguerS 10 make
league, hut you've got 10 give II 70
The Feds. for one thing and that's
their nerve Besides the bali PLAYERS
~ the land certainly ought to he
thankful TO the Feds for what the
new league has done for the player
cause.
FIVE PHIIIIEs SIGN coNTRAcrs
PHILADELPHIA. ian. .i-The Phil
adelph's National League club an
rounced last night that n had accented
he terms ~ Pitcher Seatou. Outfelders