El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-01-04
LARGER MINOR LEAGUE CLUBS
MAY ABANDON TRAINING TRIPS
It's Too Expensive, They Assert and Does Little To-
ward Improving Men; Besides, There Are Too Few
Opportunities For Exhi bition Games in Which
Part of the Expense Might Be Recovered.
BY FRANK G. SrENKE.

G. NENKE.
, said McGraw. IF that q player rule
is to hold I'll have a hard enough job
in pruning down my list of regular
players to keep within the limit"
x x
Those organized baseball magnates
ought to resolve to quit whining and
ycwling about broken faith" when
ever one of their ball players jump to
the Feds. The players who jump their
contracts are doing nothing worse than
these same magnates used to do cfore
the Feds came along and gave the
players a chance.
The conditions that used to exist be-
fore the Feds came along were just the
reverse of those of the present day.
Then it was the magnate who busted
tracts-and he busted them at will
They had just as much regard for the
contract that bound them to treat
player squarely as Germany had for
the contract that called for the neu-
trality of Belgium.
Back in the old days, the magnates
were the Simon Legree'S of real life
and the players took the part of Uncle
Tom. The magnates held the whip
and they applied it as often and as
ruthlessly as they pleased. Every time
they gave a player a raw deal and
that player whimpered they slammed
him a few more slams with the whip
and told him if he didn't keep quiet
they would shove him right out of
baseball.
Things are different now-and how
the magnates whine and below. The
players who jump their contracts and
go to the Feds are committing no
worse breach of faith than did the
magnates for a long flight of years.
But it's the magnate who is feeling the
business end of the whip. And he
doesn't like it-not a bit.
The players who jump their con-
tracts are doing only a natural thing
grasping the opportunity of lettering
themselves financially. If they can get
$4,000 q year for doing the same work
for which they are getting only $4,000
now, why shouldn't they loop the loop!
Wouldn't you do it?
Before answering you may murmur
something about a contract and about
broken faith. You're right that
should be considered under ordinary
and when dealing with
fair and faithful employers But those
baseball magnates in organized base
ball are not fair. The past has shown
that. In the old days they cut a
player adrift whenever they pleased.
He had a contract calling for a certain
salary for a certain period-but the
snapped their fingers at it.
Baseball history is replete with cases
where magnates broke their contracts
and thought nothing about it. Miner
Brown brought more fame and glory
to the Chicago Cubs than any other
man who ever wore a uniform. His
pitching made the Cubs pennant
a big money winner. Ana /
what was his reward? He was
hooked to the Cubs by a contract that I
called for $4,000 a year. The Cubs !
decided to get rid of him !
and they turned him over to the Louis /
vile club, which club contracted him !
for $500 a year-a drop of 5000.
Brown claims the contract he had |
was an agreement whereby the Cubs !
were to pay him or to guarantee the !
payment to him of $4,000 salary per |
year And when the Cubs decided to /
get rid of Brown they ignored that |
contract and put up to him the ultl- !
with Louisville for $500 |
q year or you don't play at all That was |
r year before the Feds came along /
When the Feds came they offered him |
a job at a salary around his old Cub |
wage and he jumped.
X
The Brown case is but sample of /
the way the magnates treated the |
players before the Feds came along /
and offered the players a haven of /
refuge. The magnatts sold, traded, re- |
leased or blacklisted players, just as
they chose. Whether the player had !
contract that called for a certain /
salary didn't make any difference with I
the magnates. He was lord of all he !
he certainly lorded /
things to the limit Of his then lordly
powers.
Is it any wonder now that players
who had to swallow whatever the
ire forcing the magnates to gulp down
few of their own bitter pillS2