The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-10-22
Money Losses in Many Clubs
Will Force Action.
FEDS CRIPPLE THE MINORS
Western and Southern Leagues
Among the Heavy Losers. !.
Magnates Will Likely b
Driven to Peace Terms.

~S~~>sS ~ss~A
fans. major, minor and outlaw, are
hereby warned to sit tight and take
firm hold on themselves. For this
winter the old baseball boat is going
before and any who haven't got a
death grip will go overheard sure.
The magnates are not talking much
for once. That in itself is an omi-
nous sign, for when baseball mag
nate won't talk, one may well know
that something is brewing and some
thing of a mighty serious character at
that But confab after confab is be-
ing held behind closed doors and many
mighty important n4issives are passing
back and forth between the ruling
powers in the baseball world.
Just what is going to happen is hard
to forecast. One thing is certain, how
ever, and that is that when the gong
rings in the spring of 1915 for the get
away in the baseball world the field
will have a vastly different appear
ance to the one it presented during
the past season. The warning powers
in Europe won't massage the face OF
that country any more than the kings
of baseball will muss up the looks Of
organized baseball this winter.
Clubs Lose Money.
The reason for this change is very
plain-baseball clubs throughout the
country lost more money during the
past season than ever before in their
history. And Their are few who don't
believe that the cause lies in the Fed
eral league and they also think that il
baseball is to continue as profitable
business that peace will have to be
made with the Federals.
It isn't that the Federal league
so much money. They didn't do that.
But the clubs they did hurt and hurt
badly, are the Glass AA teams, making
up the American Association, the In
ternational league AMI the Pacific
Coast league. The Western and South
ern leagues, Glass A organizations,
were handled terrific wallops, too. in
the shape of greatly reduced profits.
The great race in the National
League enabled that venerable body
better profit on a whole than 1t has
had in some time. Boston's great
squirt from the bottom to the top after
July 1, lent an interest to that organ
ization that resulted in packed parks
and big gate receipts. The American
League didn't fare so we'll as the Ath-
letics early got away in the lead and
stayed there. At that the American
League clubs didn't lose enough to
scare them any.
Tributaries Crippled.
But the heads of the American and
National Leagues realize that they
have got to do something to appease
the powers in the Class AA leagues.
The International league is clearly on
the rocks. The Federals walloped
that organization numerically. And
the International league is a great as
set of the major leagues
In fact the entire structure OF base
ball depends on the minor leagues.
The major leagues have to have them
to develop young players and to take
care of the surplus talent. They could
no more do without them than an
aeroplane could fly without an engine.
And the minors are demanding, and in
no uncertain terms, that the major
They don't care just how peace is
brought about but peace they want
and peace they must have.
The Federal league hasn't made a
| mint Of money. But late reports indi-
cate that enough Of the clubs finished
| right side of the sheet to make it GER
| tain that they'll stick in the fight for
some time to come. Just how the Fed
eral league is going to fare in this
| coming peace parley is hard to deter
mine. If the club owners around the
circuit put their fight entirely in the
hands of Jim" Gilmore, their scrap
ping president, 1t is certain that they
will come off pretty we'll in the nego-
| tiations.
There considerable talk, however,
to the effect that some Of the club
owners are weakening and that If word
reaches them from organized baseball
that they will be taken care Of they are
liable to sell out. If a couple or even
one Of the Federal league club owners
make any negotiations of his own with
the enemy, Gilmore won't be able to
fight nearly as effectively and the
chances of the Feds getting much out
OF the settlement will be very slim.
Gilmore stoutly asserts, however.