El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-03-16

THE sensa tf0nal jump OF Walter
Johnson to the Federal league and
Il his no less sensational jump back
again were the big feature OF the
winter. In a signed article IN the April
issue Of the Baseball Magazine the
great pitcher explains his conduct as
VII try to explain, frankly and
orenIv- why I signed with the feuer-
al league I know that my ACT IN
leaving my original CLUB, Washing ION
TO go with a new league, and then ap-
Dareutly deserving the Feoerals Tor
washington has been severely critl-
cfsed and 1 can easily see why this IS
When a man has made a mistake it
is very easy to criticize him without
knowing the motives which induced
him TO make the MISTAKE ana II IS
hard for him TO explain those MOVIES
without having his explanation CAMEO
an alfbL Perhaps the statement am
here going 20 make VII be called an
alibi by many people, but IL IS nor
intended in that light nave never
vet made an alibi and never expect
10 make one. But i do claim the
privilege common to all-the privilege
of being heard before [ am judged;
and think owe II 70 myself as wen
as to the public TO explain the I'M
pleasant situation in which found
myself this winter, and now came
quite unintentionally, TO get into such
q POSITION
Impressed with Feds.
From the first I was always i'm
pressed with the Federal league They
looked to me like game crowd ana
I admired their courage 1 cannot see
how anyone who has seen now Iney
have fought against the greatest ODDS
can fail to be impressed with their
courage. I always hoped they would
succeed for 1 thought their success
was 2 good thing for the ball player
and a good thing for the public. The
public wants high grade base ball
the more it can get the better AT
least that is the way 1 looked at II
and still do.
I think my attitude toward Washing
ton was always clear 1 have repeat
edlv said. tina ] would play for Wash
ingtou for less salary than I would
anywhere else. 1 have proved that
statement by doing exactly that thing;
for I turned down q superior Federal
league offer to 90 with my old
employers That is what / meant in
saving that other things being any
where nearly equal. would always
give Washington the preference But
had I been free TO sign, as I supposed
7 was. and had been offered a salary
so much larger than Washington
could nav me. that there was no fair
comparison, I would have felt that
owed il TO my future to take the larg-
er prospect just as any other man in
any other business would have done.
Letters to Griffith
I wrote Clark Griffith after Fielder
Jones had offered me $4,000 a year,
and asked him II he would give me
$4,000. He had already made that
suggestion himself, and 1 thought il
no more than fair to take the mans
own proposition. He did not reply TO
this letter. and left me in the dark as
to his intentions 1t was about this
time that president Gilmore Of the
Federal league gave out the statement
that he would make no more offers
to high-priced stars for the Federal
league wished rather 10 build Up their
average standard Of players This
seemed to Eliminate me from their
consideration. for which I could IN no
a fine offer Of $4,000 a year. more
than I had any expectation even at
the time OF getting from Washington,
and I had turned the offer down
merely because I wanted to give
Washington preference.
I was not worried at all by the turn
Of events. but when 7 heard nothing
my first letter had been lost in the
mail. and wrote again received
no reply TO this letter. either, but
sometime after I received a letter
from PRESIDENT Minor. He is a lawyer
AMI no doubt accustomed TO being
somewhat decisive in his cOrrespon-
dence- As president Of the Washing
ton club he is anxious to get players
for as small salaries as possible. 1 do
not, and did not at the time. blame
him personally for the letter: but I
did not like it. He wrote in effect
that I was the lawful property Of
vs. asnlngtOns that the best figure they
cOud make me was $3.50 q year. and
that If I did not accept this figure they