The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1914-05-10
.FEDERAlS NAY
CONTROL SPORT
Minor Leagues Threaten to
Break Away from Or
gained Ball.
WRECKED THE IA CLUBS
When Minors Called for Help the Big
Leagues Failed to Respond.
Have Own Troubles.

! New York. May s.-It wouldn't be sur
prising II the Federal League became the
ruling power in baseball before another
year rolls around.
The minor leagues Just now are threat
ening to break loose from the American
and National Leagues and form an al
lance with the Federais. II they do II
means the taking away from those two
major league organizations the very soil
that has nourished them.
There's hardly q minor league magnate
who isn't cussing the moguls of the ma
jor leagues and the national commission.
The Feds have about wrecked q dozen
teams In the Glass IA minors. but !,
isn't the Feds that the small magnates
are swearing at mostly It's their sup
posed friends in the big league who
failed them-and failed piserably-in the
greatest crisis in baseball history.
The national agreement In which the
big and little leagues are a start, pro-
vides that the big fellows shall take care
of the little ones in times Of trouble.
When the Feds began raiding the little
fellows they yelled to the big fellows for
help. And the big fellows answered some
bAshe dDoah hofAA6 aotDics VI otf o"h
jammed cotton in their sound receivers
and kept 1t there.
Under ordinary conditions the major
leagues would slip an oar to the little
fellows. But this isn't an ordinary pc
Rod, but one in which the majors feel
thay need about all the available oars
to keep themselves affoat. And they've
left the little fellows to sink.
Clubs Face Bankruptcy.
The statement may seem odd that the
minors may hook up with the very same
crowd that put them on the fritz, but Il
seems the best move they can make.
They can't get help from the majors and
they can't hand alone against the Feds.
So the only thing that remains. is for
them to make peace with the enemy at
whatever terms they can get And. unless
we miss our guess by a mile. the Feds
will make them good terms and take
them to their bosoms in loving. mother
like fashion.
From Buffalo. Baltimore. Kansas City
and Indianapolis. come reports already
that the Class "A teams that are COM
peting with the Federals are facing
Bankruptcy. In some OF the towns the
Federals have outdrawn them and 10 to
], In conflict games. At some of the In
ternational League games only 200 or 300
persons are in the stEnds-a crowd that
didn't bring enough money to pay half
that days hotel expenses for the visiting
club. TO say nothing of salaries, railroad
fares. and the score OF different expenses
a ball club must meet.
The Class "A minors must average
around 1850 to 5000 a day to break ahead
at the end OF the season. According 10
the early statistics they will average
about 1.0oo perhaps less including in this
average even the attendance in cities
where there Is no Federal competition.
Such an attendance Is ruinous.
Not RaylnE Players.
Not only in this way have the Feds
placed the Class IA minors at their
mercy. but also in another way. as we
have seriously pointed out. That's in
the matter of players. In other years
the minors added to their income by
selling their star players to the major
leagues Some minor league clubs
that had developed some exceedingly
glittering stars averaged an income OF
s25.000 a season through this source.
But the Feds aren't. in the business
of buying players. They just grab
them. In the case OF some star minor
leagues they'll go in and agree to pay
him the same salary for signing that
the organized majors will pay him, and
in addition they'll give him bonus.
It's not hard to guess what the play
ers will do, is 1t. when 1t comes to a
proposition Of taking $1,000 a year
from the American or National League
or $4,000 a year and an additional
81, 600 or $4,000 from the Feds in the
form of bonus money.
And every time a player accepts the
Federals', proposition II means that the
minors will lose the purchase money.
In the face of all this isn't 1t quite
logical to presume-and to predict
that the minors will cut loose from the
ties that bind them to crowd that
hasn't lifted a hand to help them and
to Join forces with crowd that will
wreck them utterly in another year, II
they continue to oppose them?