Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-12-24
WAS THEIR CHARITY
BUSINESS OR THEIR
BUSINESS CHARITY?
Why Did the Baseball Monarchs
Reinstate Players of the
Late Lamented Fed
eral League
EBBETS FAMOUS BONE
BY KRYTIC

What an inspiring picture Is drawn for
he Mere Public! The Monarchs of Base
ball gathered around the peace board,
oil hands so saturated with the Christ
mas spirit that a maEnanimous measure
is passed to forgive the wicked Federal
League bal player and let him go to
work-provlded he is good drawing
card.
We are not prepared to deny that the
Monarchs were saturated--with Christ
mas spirit Mayhap they were bubblnE
over with It, but their business acumen
and wisdom survived. Therefore they
lifted the ban from the Federal League
player-even the jumper. The Christmas
spirit did not figure.
1t is difficult to see what other course
the gentlemen could have taken, either
from a business or an ethical stand
point. 1t certainly would have been poor
business OH the part or the organized
forces to have allowed such stars as
Kauff, Lee Magec, Joe Tinker, Daven-
port and half dozen others, to slide
through their fingers.
Ethicnlly. the monRrchs had no
chance to do otherwise tbnn they did.
After becoming soc hummy with the
Federal League mnEnntes that they are
allowing some of them to butt into the
organization, they could not very well
harpoOn the men who were Induced to
business with. In making peace with
the tempters they could not adopt n
policy of SNUG righteousness toward
the tempted.
No, there never was any doubt hut
that the stars would be cared for. They
mean money at the gate. II Is the
average Federal Lacquer who will ind
the going very lean.
How Ebbetts Helped
1t is interesting to note that chief
among those who declared against the
jumpers was Charlie Ebbetts. With
sublime Indifference to baseball history
and his own famous bone. which put the
independents on the baseball map, the
Brooklyn impresario has, all along, had
his hammer out for all who had any
thing to do with the Federals.
1t will be recalled that In the early
spring of 1914 the Federals were on the
ropes, gasping for breath. The organized
players had shown no disposition to take
chance with the new league, despite
the great rolls of wealth temptingly
flashed before their faces.
At that time Joe Tinker and Ebbetts
were dicterins over a question as to
salary. Tinker had been traded from
Cincinnati. where he had held the posi-
tion of manager. to Brooklyn, and he
had expressed himself as being convinced
IL
yearly stipend For a time the wires
were hot with messages from Tinker to
Ebbetts and vice versa, and 1t was orfl-
cally arranged that the two should meet
and arrange things.
Tinker polished up all his best argu-
ments and appeared on time, but Ebbetts
did not. Instead, he delegated Wilbur
Robinson to turn Tinker down by phone.
Joseph took the first train for Chicago,
and within a few hours his name was
affixed to a Federal League contract
The news was flashed over the cOun-
try, and thereafter the Federals were
taken seriously. They had signed Joe
Tinker, and other players soon fol-
lowed. What was good enough for
Tinker was good enough for them.
The independents were given new
lease of life, and all because Charlie
Ebbetts failed to realize that he could
not blum n man OF Tinker's class.
They Are Killing the Game
Countless times during the recent base
ball bedlam the suffering public has been
told that the awful war was wrecking the
sport. They are killing the game"
This conflict is disastrous" have become
household phrases.
All of which is true In a sense. The
fact of the matter. however. is that the
publicity given the war proved almost
disastrous to the game and not the war
itself
The war was an evil that had 10 be
endured Every business venture that in
wolves millions of dollars will go through
periods of competitive conflict. Only in
the baseball business, however, is the
suffering public saddled with all the
sordid details.