Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1916-02-09
FRANCHISES IN
 B. B. LEAGUES
 IN BIG DEMAND
By Frank c, Menke.

New York Feb. S.--A year ago prospective purchasers uG major and minor league baseball clubs were as scarce as ice creaiil' soda water par lors in the Sahara dosert Now the baseball woods are all cluttered up. with folks who arc gunniDg for fran chises-at any old price. 5.,s
 The settling of the var is the rcas- on. There are many persons who think that peace will bring about prosperous conditions in a baseball way. They want 10 grab off a bit of that prosperity by owning ball club and they are bidding from 20 to 90 per cent more for ball clubs than the asked price of year ago.
 But those owners who were eX- tremely anxious to get out of base ball year ago now arc just as anxious to finger. They weathered two years of war and suffered huge losses. They are hopeful that profits in 1916 and the other yeal.s to come will wipe out the deficit of those two years-and enable them to reap a golden harvest. eFfs} .4
 Huge Prices Demanded.
 Therefore, the club owners now have doubled the former price they placed on their club. Harry Sinclair wanted the Giants and offeredt$1 .oO0,- s OG0 for the whole works. Tho Giant owners retaliated with request for $2000,000. A year ago they probably would have clutched all offer of $1,- 50O,000
 The Cubs and Cardinals already have changed hands. So have the Braves. Gatfney and his partners ill the ownership of that club sold out really would have asked for if the war still existed.
 The Cleveland club Is for sale--and | the bankers who are, handling Charles Spmer's affairs. bandly ask $560, coo for the club, franchise and park l That's about $160,00O more than the club is worth. in the opinion of many | baseball experts. s
 A year ago no one would have taken | the Brooklyn Dodgers at 20 per cent less than the apraised price. Now, since the Brookfeds are no more, there's syndicate organized for the purpose of purchasing Charlie Eb- betts' pets Tn 1915 Charles might have been influenced to part with his outfit at sacrifice in price. Now Charles talks in millions when he mentions the price "l might consider for my baseball club"
 $SOO.OOO fer Red Sox. II
 Joe Lannin remarked year. or so ago that an offer in the neighborhood of $550,000 or s600,OnG for his Red Sox might be given serious consider ation." Now Joe sniffs at such an offer in the neighborhood of $7oO. .O00. Josephus might consider $SC0,000- "but no less."a :
 The owners of the st. Louis Cardi- nals were rather anxious year ago to fold up their tents and slip quietly out of baseball, provided they got q fair sized bundle of kale That was a year ago when there was a Federal league club in St. Looie. But all has changed now. The Card owners look at things from different angle. They have placed a price on their club which is regarded as prohbitive by even those brave persons who Searn to become associates of Garry Herr mann, Ban Johnson, ct al
 The conditions that exist in the majors are duplicated in the minors. A year ago the huge bulk of minor leaguers were in a mood where they would have accepted two or three un- punched meal tickets in exchange for their baseball awnings Now they want the price of ransoming eighteen kings and as many queens for their outfits.
 More for Minor Stars.
 Furthermore, the return of the dove of peace will change the ideas of the minor league magnates as to the worth of the youths they develop. Last year and in 1914 also. the minor leaguers were keen about selling their stars to the major leaguers for any old price. They feared if they spent a lot of time dickering. the Feds would horn into the proceedings and kidnap the che-i!d
 Buts'now the Feds no longer are menace. Therefore, the minor leaguers can hold out for higher prices for their stars until they get 1t LOT lose the youth via the draft route.
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 ! ACTION ,IS NATURAL <, E F. C. Meehan Hancock 4 ,Miclt l