Evening star., 1915-03-08
FEDERAL LEAGUE BLAMED
FOR ILLS IN BASE BALL
Cut in Salaries in Minors Due to En-
trance Of Outlaws, St. Louis
Writer Says.

ST. LOUIS, Mo-, March S.-To Lee
Magee. Ed Honey. Pol Perritt, Joe
Tinker, Otto Knabe, Mordecai Brown.
Mickey Doolan, George Stovall and a
score of other athletes the Federal
League scheme has been profitable.
They have doubled, and in many cases
tripled, their salaries with the leap to
the Independents. They are reaping
the harvest from Ward. Weeghman.
Stifel, Ball & Co. They have the Il
should fret expression because con-
tracts without the tenday clause in
sure their jobs for this year, the next
and maybe the following.
That's to the credit of Lee. Ed. Pol
and others. But where these fellows
are living life of luxury-they really
have reached the top of their career
the other fellow, the one who is just
starting out on his base ball journey.
and the one who is waiting for the
opportunity to advance to the major
class, is feeling the pinch of economy.
A prominent fan expressed the follow
ing yesterday: Ball players say the
Federal League has helped base ball.
It hasn't. And the ball player is the
one who will suffer. Those who are
feasting on the big salarE today. the
result of bidding between organized
base ball and the Federals Will tell you
the Feds should be recognized the
mighty power i'll the national game.
They should stick to Gilmore's leaders.
because Gilmore and his mates are re-
sponsible for these panicky base ball
days.
Always the Next Season.
"In base ball, though, the masnate
cannot sit inside his Office and allow
his club to run it's own course. That S
because the life of the star is not for
ever He may be a 400 swatter this
summer and the next he'll shrink to a
200 swinger And 200 batters do not
win pennanIs. So the magnate must
look out the window; he must send ms
scouts to tour the country and max
notes of the lads he believes viii be
ripe for picking in another summer or
two. This is the fellow who today IS
being injured by the base ball war
With a single sweep the big minor
league magnates have sliced their sal
ary list.
The speaker disclaimed owning sin
gle share of stock in any ball club, not
even a puny organization, but ne
quoted the following figures as the
circuit: American Association, 500 TO
s275; international League, $3.50 to
| S275: Pacific Coast League. $3.50 to
s275: Southern League, s225: Western
| $175: class C leagues, S125; class u
leagues, 500. Before the Federal
League arrived many stars from the
majors who were slipping round EN-
| ployment in the three big minor
lieagues-the International. American
Association and Pacific Coast. And
many Of them drew down as high as
$500 a month. s4oo oo-a-month salary
was common in these three circuits
But in 1914 those three leagues discov-
cred they could not pay the high sal
aries and ring up with a profitable bal
ance at the end of the season.
! The knife has been the closest friend
to the minor league magnate since last
| October He not only has sliced the
salaries but he has fired many of those
Iex-majors who found employment with
them after slipping out of the big
arena. And why. you ask: The sal
airy increase the Federals started.