El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-10-15
FEDERAL Managers PLAN To SAVE
II8yI.I6 Love TERM CONTRACTS
With Their Extremely Heavy Running Expenses Team
Owners Find it Imperative to Cut Down PayrOlls
and Thin Out Ranks of Players Who Have
Lost Their Usefulness to the League.

the course Of two years they have
7 played out their string, but in many
! cases the contracts. which were for
| three years, have still another year TO
| 50, and IN some cases they call for two
! years more.
/ The Feds have learned that they
I must provide baseball TO attract the
/ Ians- They can no longer exist on
! regulations The ranks nave got 10
! be filled with young ball players, and
players must be developed if the league
IS 10 live and hold any interest with
Q the fans But before this can be done
( reduction Of perhaps 50 per cent ali
undeslrables must be found
The first steps In getting rid Of some
or the long termers was taken few
weeks ago, when such players as Rus
sell Ford, Chief Bender, Fred Jack
Itch and others were released All Of
I these releases involved the possibility
Of court proceedings Camel plans to
give the players a fairer deal but at
the same time accomplish the desired
object. The players viii no doubt be
given their option of taking so per
cent OF the face value in settlement Of
the contracts, or risk a suit in the
courts.
a Good Example.
Cancels own club is a good example
OF the conditions that exist throughout
the league Camel has now, and COM
ing in the fall, total of about 40
players He plans on using only about
IS in the regular season, yet to get
down TO that limit he must find an
outlet for the superfluOus talent Some
Of the contracts will expire, but others
Will have to be bought off II is es-
timated that in the neighbcrhood OF 80
players viii be thus bought off at a
cost OF perhaps $50. 600 on the season
and more than $500 900 including con-
tracts that. have two years to go yet
But IN three years the league figures
that IL viii be practically even and will
have got rid Of the players for moth
ing, as in the next two years they
viii not have that extra so per cent to
pay on whose salaries
The failure of the Colonial league.
which Just managed TO limp through
Its season, left the Feds without a
farm" for extra hands. At the same
time, Camel, in suggesting his plan
does not want TO be unfair with men
who have served their lives in base
ball He knows that they cannot go
wants them TO get something for their
sacrifices. although he feels that the
league viii be better off without them.
Might BE Adopted.
The same plan might be adopted by
some clubs in organized baseball with
advantage and big saving in the end.
There are several big league clubs
staggering under the weight OF long I
term contracts held by players who
are only standing in the way Of new
stars Organized baseball has already l
carried out this plan in part by releas- I
ing players TO minor leagues and pay [
ing part OF the salaries, but in only |
Few cases have contracts been closed !
outright The Yankees bought off Jack :
WarhOp when he refused to accept a !
release to Richmond and stood pat on
a clause in his contract which prevent
ed the club from sending him on an 4
other club without his consent