The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1914-07-23
STRIKE Of BALL
PLAYERS IS DUE
Fraternity Members viii Quit
Wednesday, Says Fu!tz.
HE JUsTIFIES THE ACTION
Charges tho National and American
League Magnates With Falling to
Keep Contracts With Men
Cites Sample Cases.

New York, July 21.-Declaring that
the members Of the Baseball Players
fraternity will stand behind his
threat Of strike If that becomes nee
essary to compel the National and
American leagues magnates to keep
their contracts with their men, David
l.. Fultz, president of the fraternity,
said that every member of the organi-
cation will walk off the ball fields all
over the country Wednesday unless
the national commission comes to
terms.
In formal statement 1ustifying the
call for strike Fultz says the case
of Player Kraft Is only one of dozens
in which the organized baseball mag
mates have violated their agreement
with the players fraternity of last
spring. In substance he declares that
through deliberate violation players
have been treated as virtual poems.
Statement by Fultz.
The statement says:
while the Kraft controversy is the
main point now at issue between or
ganized ball and the members Of the
Baseball Players fraternity, 1t is only
one Of the causes of difference. We
were assured last winter that most
of our requests were fair and they
were conceded to us by contract
knowns as the Cincinnati agreement
That contract has been violated by
the owners, not once nor twice, but
dozens Of times this season. While
most of the magnates in the big
leagues and many in the minor
leagues have been absolutely fair in
their dealings, few have not even
made a pretense to living up to the
agreement.
'In some of the minor leagues the
Cincinnati agreement is apparently
looked upon as joke. A large num-
Der of players have received no copies
Of their contracts. A condition which
should not exist even though copies
were not guaranteed them by the
agreement, and the contract in use
in many places contains a 60-day sus-
pension clause for the player in GER
tain contingency, Notwithstanding
tD6 IdCl ludl SuCu ClduSt Is III ulItCl
violation of the agreement and that at
the New York conference the national
board was practically ordered by the
national commission to omit it.
Players Badly Treated.
Players have been released with.
out the required preliminary notice.
Players have been suspended without
pay and no reason assigned as is re-
CURED.
"a certain player signed contract
with the ten-day notice of release
clause stricken out. He was trans
ferred to another team and foolishly
signed a contract with that clause In
Shortly afterward he was told If he
did not consent to a reduction of 800
per month in his salary, he would be
released.
I'm the case of one player who
signed with a certain big league team
and was released shortly before the
season began, the provisions of the
agreement were violated just five diff
ferent times.
1--WE have taken five or six cases up
with Mr.. Farrell. the secretary of the
national board, who decides all claims
presented to that board, and although
one Of these cases was filed nearly
three months ago we have not been
accorded the courtesy of an acknowi.
edgment of the receipt of any of them.
We mention this to show the spirit in
which our efforts are met by the ma
tional board"
Johnson Is BelIigerent.
Fire for fire and steel for steel is
the plan Of campaign mapped out by
Ban Johnson, the belligerent president
of the American league, against the
Baseball Players fraternity.
Johnson's first move was to summon
the club presidents of his circuit to
conference in this city Then he To-
Gated Charles II. Ebbetts, and over the
long distance telephone handed out
few instructions to the bewildered
owner of the Dodgers and the Newark
Indians, the latter the storm center of
the present dispute,
Upon your life" said Johnson, do
not dispose of First Baseman Clarence
Kraft to any major league club until
after Wednesday. The American
league intends to force a showdown
Of the fraternity's hand. We are pre-
pared TO lock our parks rather than
give way, and we will keep them
locked the rest of the season If npceS.